All That Remains
by Electra126
Summary: Sequel to "The Replacement" and "The Real Deal".  Echo deals with trying to live an average everyday sort of life while Buffy and Faith realize that Adelle's incarceration doesn't mean that her pet project has been terminated. Buffy x Faith, Buffy x Echo.
1. Chapter 1

**Note: **This is the third and final installment of my Buffy/Dollhouse crossover series. You'll really need to read 1.) The Replacement and 2.) The Real Deal before you read this or you will be terribly, terribly confused. This has been finished for over two years but I only recently realized I'd never posted it here. Hope you enjoy it :) Also realize that I began writing this series before Dollhouse even began, which is a BIG reason why the Dollhouse places/characters/etc aren't always as we know them.

**Summary: **Echo deals with trying to live an average everyday sort of life while Buffy and Faith realize that Adelle's incarceration doesn't mean that her pet project has been terminated

**Timeline:** Takes place during the Comic version of Season 8 and contains spoilers through then.

* * *

><p><strong>All The Remains<br>(Part Three of The Replacement Trilogy)  
><strong>**by****  
><strong>**Electra****  
><strong>

**Chapter One**

"I dreamt of her again last night."

"Dreamt of whom, Juliet?"

"Her. _Me._ Another me."

"Would you like to share your dream with me?"

There was a short pause before Juliet answered, "Yes."

"Please, continue then."

"I watch her die. She fights an awful man with a wrinkled face and he tries to eat her neck, but she falls in a puddle. She can't breathe with her face in the water."

"That sounds like quite the nightmare. I can speak to Dr. Whittamore. He might be able to prescribe some Prazosin to help."

"It's not a nightmare though. I get better. _She_ gets better. But then I see her again and she's jumping off of a tower into a pretty light."

"Perhaps that's a sign that you're drawn to the light. That you're inherently good."

"Perhaps. But she gets better again. And she fights the wrinkled men with a shiny weapon. Every time I see it, I feel something. It makes my stomach tickle and my skin prickle."

"It's just a dream. You can't feel such things in a dream."

"But I do. I am her, and she is me. I feel what she feels. I see what she sees. Why does that happen, Dr. Walsh?"

Maggie sat back in her chair and continued to look down at Juliet who remained prone on the leather sofa. It was possible that Juliet could be sharing slayer dreams with Buffy. Really, it wasn't that far-fetched an idea; for all intents and purposes, Juliet _was_ Buffy. Maggie internally scolded herself for never having the opportunity to study Buffy better years before at the University of Sunnydale, though she hoped to learn everything she could about slayers now.

With her lips pulled back in a tight smile, she finally responded.

"Because you're very special, Juliet."

Juliet looked from the ceiling and over to Maggie, staring her in the eyes.

"Maybe I don't want to be special."

Maggie chuckled quietly then. The apple certainly didn't fall far from the tree.

"We have no choice over such matters, Juliet. We are who we are, as created by our maker." Seeing the puzzled look on Juliet's face, Maggie smiled gently. "Perhaps discussing origins and philosophy are a bit above your level. I'll call Dr. Whittamore and have him arrange a massage. It will be good for you to relax."

She turned and picked up the phone, ready to dial when Juliet's voice stopped her in her tracks.

"The dream doesn't end there."

Intrigued, Maggie placed the phone back in the cradle and faced Juliet once again, ready to hear the rest of the dream. "Please, continue."

"She finally looks at me. She never sees me except for when she's here."

"Here? At the lab?" Maggie asked, suddenly very interested.

"Yes. She sees me, and then she gets very upset. She hurts Mr. Finn, and then she looks for you."

"And what does she do when she finds me, Juliet?" Maggie asked anxiously.

Juliet tilted her head to the side as she stared at Maggie, an innocent look upon her face.

"She hurts you too."

* * *

><p>Maggie stood in her doorway, watching as Juliet was led away to her nightly yoga class and massage. When she was finally out of view, she nodded to Riley who was standing nearby and turned to walk back into her office, Riley hot on her heels.<p>

"Did she tell you about her dreams?" Riley asked anxiously as he closed the door behind them.

"Yes, she did." Maggie made her way over to her desk and sat down in the leather chair, her eyes focused on Juliet through a series of monitors on the wall.

"Then you know that they're slayer dreams. She's dreaming of past slayers, not limited to just Buffy. Two days ago she told me that she dreamt of whom we now know as Nikki Wood. She's also dreamt of Kendra and Faith, or at least that seems accurate from her descriptions."

"And now she's getting a sense of precognition. Amazing, really, what resources the slayers have available to them." After a moment of silent reverie, Maggie looked up to Riley. "You're her handler, Agent Finn. Why didn't you report these findings immediately after you were made aware of them?"

Riley sighed and flopped down onto the leather sofa, running a hand over his sandy brown hair.

"Because up until today, they were just dreams. Adelle had reports that Echo and Sierra had slayer dreams too. They never had any precognition though. Their slayer dreams showed only slayers of the past; they never saw any foreshadowing of events to come."

"I guess the game has changed though, hasn't it," Maggie said rather than asked.

"You don't really think that she's going to come here, do you?"

"You're the one who knows her best, Agent Finn. What do you think?"

Riley's jaw clenched shut as he thought about it. After a moment he looked up at Maggie and drew in a deep breath through his nose.

"I'd lock everything down, ma'am. We can't underestimate Buffy Summers and what she's capable of. Surely you remember what happened when she came after The Initiative."

"Actually, that part happened _after_ Adelle did my memory scan. All that I know, I learned from written reports." She regarded him for a moment, her mind working double time. "I'm truly puzzled, Agent Finn. There was no paper trail that proved another facility existed, nor that we're the ones attached to it. How do you suppose that she could ever find out about us?"

And it was simple, really. What was one of the things that Buffy always had on her side that tipped the balance in her favor when brute force wasn't the answer?

"Magic."

* * *

><p>"Oh god, gonna hurl," Faith said as the bright light from the portal faded away behind her. She lifted her forearm up to her mouth and pressed her lips against her skin, biting back the nauseous feeling.<p>

Buffy smiled brightly and practically ran across the room, barreling into a still wobbly Faith.

"Fight it, Faith. No way am I kissing you if you start turning inside-out all over the place again," she said, wrapping her arms around Faith who managed to hug her back after a moment or two. She knew then that Faith wasn't going to be sick so she proceeded to pepper her lips with several quick kisses.

"Mmm," Faith began, "I thought Red was tweaking the portal spell to nix the blowing chunks part?"

Her words were muffled against Buffy's lips but she didn't care; all that mattered was that they were finally kissing. She'd been separated from those lips for five days while on a mission with Giles and they were long overdue some serious smoochage. The sex would come soon enough, preferably without the audience that was watching and giggling at them now.

"Well, mmm," Buffy said, finally pulling her lips away for a second, "she's been trying, but the results have been mixed so far."

Faith's lips stopped moving suddenly and she pulled back from Buffy, one of her eyebrows raised in question.

"That sounds ominous."

Buffy tried her best to hide her smile. "Don't worry baby, the effects will wear off in about ten hours."

Faith's eyes widened almost comically when she felt something brush against her back. She quickly spun around once, twice, three times then gave up and looked over the back of her shoulder.

"Oh, for fuck's sake . . . a tail? Really?"

And there was no way to deny the fact that she had a long, shaggy, white and brown tail sticking out from the back of her jeans, waggling excitedly behind her. The giggles in the room turned into full out laughter and Buffy bit her bottom lip trying to hold back her own laughter.

"You . . . you knew this was gonna happen!" Faith said in shock, pointing accusingly at Buffy.

"I wasn't 100% sure it wouldn't, that's true," Buffy defended. "But it's been five days and I missed you and I just wanted you home. And hey . . ." she pointed at the tail, "you might be upset but I know you're still happy to see me. Your tail is wagging. It's your tell."

Faith narrowed her eyes at Buffy, wanting so badly to be angry but she just couldn't be. Truth be told she would've happily grown a hairlip and a nice set of tentacles when it came to getting back to Buffy after her trips away with Giles. The two slayers were pretty inseparable these days and no way was a little tail going to get in the way of their relationship.

"Ten hours you said?" Faith asked.

"Or thereabouts," Buffy answered guiltily and then grunted softly as Faith lifted her up and over her shoulder with her ass up in the air. "What are you doing!"

Faith grinned and growled, turning her head to the side and giving Buffy's ass a quick bite before slapping it playfully.

"Don't know what's come over me, B. Think my animal side is taking over. Got a wicked craving to hump your leg and lick you all over."

The younger slayers in the room groaned loudly and went back to their business, more than bored with yet another Buffy and Faith sexual interlude. Faith walked towards the large stone staircase with Buffy dangling comically over her shoulder. Buffy looked over at Xander who was watching them amusedly and shrugged at him, unable to do much more in her current position. He watched as they disappeared up the stairs, not moving back to his monitor until they were fully out of view.

He smiled widely and shook his head, not the least bit disturbed by what he'd just witnessed.

"That's our Faith: always the horn-dog."

* * *

><p><strong>(Suggested listening: Aimee Mann – Today's the Day)<strong>

The brakes on the old truck screeched as it came to a halt in front of Bernie's Paint Supplies Plus in the middle of the small town. There was more dust on the road than there was gravel, but no one in town ever complained about it. They were used to the thin layer of grit that seemed to cover just about everything.

The old men sitting on the bench in front of the store looked up and watched the young brunette exit the truck like she'd done a few times in the last two months. She smiled at them and nodded but didn't say hi; as much as she enjoyed the small town, Echo just wasn't one to make small-talk with the older men there.

It was the only way to stop the inevitable barrage of the usual questions – No husband? No boyfriend? All alone in that old house? No visitors? I've got a grandson you might like . . .

No, silence was indeed easier.

She walked into the small shop and the bell on the door alerted Bernie to her presence. He was a gray-haired man well into his 70's, and his eyebrows were way too bushy for his face, but it made him look all the friendlier.

"Ah, good afternoon, Echo," he said, his voice jovial as he walked out from behind the counter and toward a supply shelf.

"Hey Bernie. Am I too early? I can come back . . ."

"You're right on time, dear. David finished mixing up your paint on his lunch break. I swear, that boy's face lights up every time he knows you're coming in." He reached for a thick cardboard box on the shelf and lifted it with a quiet grunt, barely able to turn and face Echo before she grabbed the heavy load from his hands.

"It's just cos he knows I'm a big tipper, Bern," she replied with a wink, stepping back so that Bernie could maneuver back behind the counter.

"Oh, he's just sweet on you, honey. You know, I'm sure he wouldn't mind coming and helping you out with your project. It must get lonely up in that old house . . ."

"It's peaceful," Echo quickly interrupted, trying to avoid his attempts at matchmaker yet again. "Besides, when I'm lonely, I just come and talk to you," she finished with a winning smile.

Bernie just chuckled to himself as he pushed the stubborn buttons on the old-fashioned cash register.

"And what about your sister?" He asked, not noticing the way her smile faltered just a little. "Has she been back to visit at all? Shame she couldn't stay a bit longer and help you set up properly."

"Faith's got her own life," she answered with a shrug. "She offers to come and visit but . . . I dunno, I don't want her to put her own life on hold for me."

Bernie sighed quietly as he took a few wooden paint-stirrers from under the counter and placed them in the box. He wanted so much to see this young girl happy and settled and not alone for a change, but he knew that she was set on handling things on her own. That and she was just really stubborn sometimes!

"Dear, she's your twin. I'm sure she'd set her life aside to make sure that you're okay, just like you'd do for her. Maybe you could go and visit her? I'd keep an eye on your place for you; you'd have nothing to worry about here."

And as much as some company would be happily welcomed or as much as seeing Faith again sounded like a good idea, there were things stopping Echo from following through with them. There was no way that Faith would leave Scotland for an extended time without bringing Buffy, and there was no way Echo could go to Scotland and see the two of them there together either.

It just reminded her too much of everything she wanted but couldn't have.

Covering her small frown with a smile, Echo looked up and met Bernie's concerned gaze again. She placed a hundred dollar bill on the counter and grabbed the box of supplies easily, ignoring the way he always seemed surprised by her strength.

"Aww, I know what you're up to, Bern. You want Faith to come back so you can try the matchmaker thing with her and David since I'm not biting. Tell ya what: next time I talk to her, I'll ask her to stop by."

Bernie laughed again though there was a bit of sadness in his voice.

"You do that, Echo. In the meanwhile, you just give us a holler if you need anything. Anything at all, dear."

Echo smiled and nodded, holding his gaze for just a moment longer than usual before making her way out of the shop and back to her truck. She unloaded the box in the back of the bed and then hopped up into the driver's seat, giving the old men on the bench a quick smile before pulling away and leaving a small dust cloud in her wake.

The warm afternoon sun beat down on her through the windshield, making a thin sheen of sweat form on her skin despite the opened windows. Most people would be put off by the heat but she welcomed it. It made her feel warm, alive. Reminded her that the sun would be back the next day, and the next, and that she would remember each and every sunrise and sunset.

It was comforting more than it was uncomfortable.

A short ten-minute drive later and she pulled off the road and onto the dirt path that was her driveway. The small white ranch house at the end of the drive sure didn't look like much from the outside, but it was cheap to buy and easy to fix up with a little bit of good old fashioned elbow grease.

The brakes screeched once again as she stopped and parked the truck on a small patch of grass near the front door. She hopped out easily and closed the rusty door behind her and made her way to the back of the truck to fetch her supplies. The afternoon sun was now beating down on her already tanned skin. She briefly thought about grabbing a blanket from inside the house and laying down in the adjoining field, but she decided on getting some work done instead.

She carried the box of paint supplies up to the house in both hands and balanced it against her hip while she opened the door. There was no need to lock it; not out in the middle of nowhere like she was.

The inside of the house was in better condition than the outside, though that was mainly due to the fact that she'd been working on it since she'd arrived. The walls were freshly plastered and ready for their last coat of paint, and the new snap-in floors had already been ordered and were waiting for her in six large boxes in the spare bedroom.

There was lots of work to be done, but Echo had nothing but time on her hands. She just worried about what would happen when the work was done and she was left with only time.

She spent the rest of the afternoon working, stirring and pouring the paint before sticking the roller in the sticky blue-gray pool and rolling it onto the walls. The color reminded her of the mountains at sunset as she and Faith had driven through Colorado. They'd pulled over and watched the sun set completely, the mountains changing from near white to a gray-blue and finally to black as the night fell around them.

Faith had told her that the night was their time; that the slayer got to dance then, to bend and flex her muscles in ritual. She'd felt it then too, the slayer pulling and pushing within her. These days it was different though. Night would fall and she would go to bed, and all she could think and feel was Buffy.

It was a hard reality, knowing that the girl of her dreams was very much out there and in love with her. It was just the wrong _her_ that she was in love with.

At least she knew now what Faith had been going through all of those years when they were apart, loving Buffy fully but never knowing that love in return. It was painful and difficult but feeling that pain reminded her that she was alive. That she lived and breathed, and that no one was making her choices for her any longer.

As darkness finally began to fall around the small white house and the dim lights inside were no longer bright enough for her to keep working, Echo closed up the paint tins and washed out the brushes and rollers. She could continue the next day. In fact, she would slow down and enjoy the process. She was starting to learn that there weren't many feelings greater than a hard job done right.

The water in the shower was just hot enough to turn her skin red, but it ran cool long before she was ready to step out. The coolness was refreshing after the heat, but it was less fulfilling. It left her feeling cold, alone.

She didn't bother to dry her hair like usual. Instead she turned off the last of the lights and crept into bed, pulling the sheets up tight to her neck. She'd never used sheets before she moved here, used to sleeping within the confines of a temperature-controlled cell. The Egyptian cotton that Faith promised 'would change her world' felt amazing against her skin, though she was sure that she'd felt softer things than those sheets against her. Her memories were fleeting and still only coming back bit by bit, but she remembered her night spent with Buffy before everything came crashing down. Remembered the way they'd talked, and they way they came together in the hotel bed, skin hot and slick against each other.

Sighing loudly, Echo turned on her side and stared at the red numbers on her alarm clock. The time read 11:27. She knew it would be hours before she fell asleep.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter Two**

Buffy bit nervously on her bottom lip, her cheeks turning a slight shade of pink as she looked down at her own naked form. She held back a giggle as Faith teased a thin silk scarf over her abdomen and up over her breasts, the material tickling her skin. Faith's eyes were dark with desire as she neared her destination, hovering just a few inches above Buffy as she gently took one of her wrists in her hand and began tying the silk scarf around it.

Swallowing loudly, Buffy watched in agonizing silence as Faith took the other end of the scarf and tied it to the wooden headboard, effectively rendering Buffy's arm useless. Her other arm was already in the same position.

"You know," Buffy began, a slight tremble in her voice, "I think this is a little bit advanced for me."

"You're the one that said you wanted to try something different," Faith answered huskily, a sexy smirk on her face as she met Buffy's eyes.

"And my saying that made you think of tying me to the headboard?" Buffy asked incredulously.

"You blinking your eyes pretty much makes me think of tying you to the headboard."

Buffy laughed, nothing but fondness and love in her eyes now as she looked at her incorrigible yet very sexy girlfriend. She wanted to reach out and caress Faith's face but with her arms restrained, all she could do was offer her a loving smile. Returning the smile in kind, Faith leaned in and teased her lips softly over Buffy's, pulling back only when she felt Buffy's arms unconsciously pulling against the delicate silk.

"Okay, B, the name of the game is Don't Rip the Scarves."

"Because Dawn will kill me if she finds out that I ripped her property? And that's only after she's done killing me when she finds out what we used them for?"

"Pretty much," Faith said with a wicked smile. "And also? Cos it'll be kinda fun to see how much control you hold onto when I'm busy making you come nice and hard with my mouth."

A quiet groan escaped Buffy's throat and she pressed her thighs together, trying to get some relief where she needed it the most. Faith looked down to see what Buffy was doing, then back up to her pleading eyes. She slipped her hand between them, coaxing Buffy's thighs apart and letting her hand find a more comfortable place.

Buffy gasped shakily as Faith's fingers dipped into her wetness and slid over and around her clit teasingly soft, just a taste of things to come. They never broke their gaze as they stared deep into one another's eyes, their silence saying more than words ever could.

"How're those scarves holding up?" Faith finally asked as she continued to slip her fingers over Buffy, her voice barely a whisper.

"I never knew bondage fun was this much about restraint," Buffy replied, making Faith laugh aloud.

Faith leaned in and gave her one last kiss before removing her hand and slipping down Buffy's body, stopping to kiss and nibble along the way. Buffy was already charged up and ready to go, so of course Faith chose that moment to tease and see just how far she could push the blonde.

She stopped her descent at Buffy's stomach and proceeded to lavish it with an obscene amount of attention, kissing every inch of her tanned skin and dipping her tongue repeatedly into her adorable belly-button in just the way that made Buffy moan and shudder.

Now, Faith had never been the kind of person to think about anything as sweet or adorable. Hell, she'd never even had bondage fun that was this intimate before. Prior to Buffy, it had been to keep people from touching her while she was getting some; she'd never wanted the distraction of unwanted hands before. She'd come and she'd go, no hassles no drama.

But Buffy had changed all of that. It wasn't about getting some and getting gone anymore. It wasn't solely about her needs – though she did have to admit, tying Buffy to the bed had long been a fantasy of hers that she just couldn't pass up when the opportunity presented itself. No, this was about Buffy; about lavishing her with all of the attention that her body could handle.

Faith wasn't sure when or how but Buffy had broken through her tough shell and had fully penetrated her squishy center, and she wasn't talking about her pussy either, though there had been plenty of penetrating there too. Buffy brought out something in her that she didn't realize she even had or was capable of showing. She couldn't imagine going back to being the closed off girl with the impenetrable walls.

She liked the person Buffy had discovered within her way too much to ever think about going back to her old ways.

Besides, having a kickass girlfriend with a hot bod who let her tie her to the bed? Totally worth sliding a few levels on the badass meter.

Smiling against Buffy's skin as she felt the girl wriggling in need, she kissed down her stomach and over her hips, then down the tops of her thighs as she very purposely avoided where Buffy wanted her attention the most. That could come later. She still had two gloriously tanned and toned legs to worship before she wanted them wrapped around her in ecstasy.

Scooting further down the bed, Faith gently lifted one of Buffy's legs and kissed the inside of her ankle. She burned a trail of blazing hot and open-mouthed kisses up the inside of Buffy's calf and her inner thigh, delighting in the way Buffy was sighing and breathing sexily for her. She knew that she wanted to wait to give her any relief but she just couldn't help herself and placed a big, wet, sloppy kiss right over Buffy's dripping hole.

"Oh baby," Buffy said breathily, her eyes drifting closed. They quickly opened, however, when she felt those wonderful lips disappear from her heated flesh.

"Sorry, B. Got ahead of myself there," Faith said with a sheepish grin.

"Head is good. Great even. Feel free to give lots of it," Buffy practically whined and jumped when Faith laughed loudly.

"But you have a whole other leg here that's just begging for some love."

"I'd be willing to cut it off if you'd just . . ." her words trailed off and she lifted her hips up, bringing Faith face-to-face with her naked sex.

"Willing to give up a leg just for a bit of action, huh?" Faith asked as she lifted Buffy's leg up onto her shoulder, sucking and kissing her inner thigh and giving her a small hickey there. She finally leaned in and looked up at Buffy, a carnal grin on her face. "We can't have that now, can we?"

And then Buffy's mind went blank as she felt those divine lips kissing over her pussy and her tongue slipping out to taste her juices. Faith teased at first, placing several open-mouthed kissed over her heated flesh everywhere but where she wanted them the most. Her tongue would flick over Buffy's clit once or twice, but she kept reining it in, trying to prolong the experience.

Buffy was far too turned on to get frustrated; she was just glad that Faith finally seemed to be ready to give her what she really needed. When she felt that soft and wonderful tongue circling over her entrance, she just couldn't hold herself back any longer. Ripping her right hand free from the silky scarf, it quickly found its way to the back of Faith's head and directed her to where she needed it the most.

"Please…" she said, her voice shaky. And then that tongue was pushing inside of her, deep enough that she felt teeth bump her swollen clit. "…oh, Faith."

Faith grunted appreciatively, wriggling her tongue as deep inside Buffy as she could get it before stiffening it up and beginning to fuck her with it. Buffy's hips immediately began to move so Faith slid her hands under her legs and up around the tops of her thighs. She pulled Buffy tight to her face, making her tongue push that much deeper inside of her.

"Fuck!" Buffy cried out, her juices spilling over Faith's tongue.

It was a good thing that Faith had slayer hearing because with the way Buffy's thighs were pressed against her ears, she wouldn't have been able to hear the appreciation Buffy was showing, or the requests that her ecstasy-laden brain were making. Faith didn't need to hear the requests though. After spending the last few months getting to know the ins and outs of the wonderful Buffy Summers, she knew exactly what the girl needed and when.

After a few final thrusts of her tongue, she pulled it out of Buffy's dripping hole and slipped it up her slit and over her clit, flicking it nice and hard and slow and fast all at the same time. Her lips and chin were covered in Buffy's arousal but she didn't care; in fact, all it did was get her more turned on if that was even possible.

Buffy's hips were pumping furiously now despite Faith's grip on her thighs. The brunette simply held Buffy tighter and opened her mouth, sucking hard on her clit while continually flicking her tongue over it.

"Just like that, yes!" Buffy practically screamed, her right hand still buried in Faith's hair while the other clung to the headboard as not to rip the one remaining scarf. She had plans for that scarf. If would be around Faith's wrists or covering her eyes, or used in some other sexy way she could come up with just as soon as she was done . . . "…I'm gonna come!"

Faith released one of Buffy's legs then and deftly slid two fingers inside of the blonde's wet sex, pumping them in and out furiously to match the rhythm Buffy was setting with her hips. Her lips and tongue were relentless on Buffy's clit, sucking and licking over it while she felt her inner walls clenching tightly around her fingers.

Curling her fingertips slightly, Faith braced herself as Buffy exploded into a string of sharp breaths and girly moans and sighs, her other hand releasing the headboard and ripping through the scarf like it was made of paper to hold tight to the back of Faith's head. Faith grinned against Buffy's pussy, her tongue slowing down on her clit as she let the girl ride out her orgasm. She stilled her fingers, flexing them ever so subtly as Buffy continued to cling to her and breathe heavily.

"Mmm," Buffy moaned, bringing one of her hands up to her face and biting the back of her index finger lazily.

"Mmm," Faith moaned back, placing a few appreciative kisses over Buffy's pussy and then on the inside of her thigh. "That was wicked sexy, baby."

"You're telling me," Buffy said, her voice low and lazy. "You're so good at that."

Faith smiled proudly and climbed up Buffy's body, resting atop the girl so that they were face to face. "Just one of my many talents."

"Any other talents I should be aware of?" Buffy asked. She brought her hands up to cup Faith's face and ran her thumbs over her chin, cleaning away her glistening juices that still remained there.

"I can touch the tip of my nose with my tongue." At Buffy's expectant look, she stuck her tongue out and curled it up, easily touching the tip of her nose.

"Have I ever told you that I love that tongue of yours?"

"Pretty sure you've moaned it once or a hundred times," Faith replied, grinning.

The remnants of the torn silk scarves on Buffy's wrists tickled the sides of her face and she giggled almost uncharacteristically. She leaned down and kissed Buffy soft and deep, their tongues sliding over and around each other. Just that simple action had her fully turned on again. No way was she done with Buffy yet. Scarves or none, there was still worshipping to be done.

"Yunno," Faith began as she pulled back, looking down at Buffy with a look of mischief upon her face, "I've always thought that the best things come in pairs."

"I'm not sure whether you're talking about my breasts or those chocolate ho-ho's you love so much."

Still grinning, Faith flexed the fingers that were still buried deep in Buffy's wet sex, making the girl gasp quietly.

"I was actually kinda thinking about orgasms, B," she said. Feeling Buffy's arms wrap around her back, she leaned down and kissed the girl on her opened mouth, sucking on her bottom lip softly.

They both heard a noise somewhere out in the hall but both girls decided to ignore it, hoping that whomever it was would just continue along on their way. The footsteps continued to grow louder and closer though and with a sigh of frustration, Faith rested her full weight down on Buffy and buried her face in the crook of her neck.

"Always when we're fuckin," she breathed out, annoyed. "Your friends have the worst timing ever."

"Why are they your friends when they do something good and my friends when they do something bad?"

Before Faith could answer, there was a tentative knock at the door.

"Buffy? I hate to interrupt, especially after the last time with the shower and the nakedness," Willow called and Faith lifted her head from Buffy's shoulder, wriggling her eyebrows at the girl as she recalled their shower-sex session from just a few nights before, "but there's an issue that I think we need to address."

"Can't it wait, Wills?" Buffy called out, trying to hide the annoyance in her voice while ignoring Faith's pervy grin. "I'm . . . a little bit tied up."

Faith nearly burst out laughing and instead buried her face between Buffy's breasts to stop the laughs that wanted to come out. Buffy tittered too, the silk scarves still hanging from her wrists.

"Far be it from me to want to interrupt your bondage fun, but . . . well, I really think you're gonna want to see this Buff. It's . . . well, I really don't know how to explain it or what to think of it."

Buffy ignored the quip about bondage fun and decided that there were some things that her friends needed to learn to deal with without her.

"Is the castle under attack?"

"No."

"Has Dawn turned into a goldfish?"

"Not that I'm aware of, no."

"Has Andrew finally come out of the closet and you're throwing a big gay parade for him?"

"Not yet."

"Then can't it wait, Wills?" Buffy whined, her bottom lip coming out in a pout knowing that Willow wouldn't have interrupted her unless it was really necessary.

"Buff . . . it's about New York," Willow replied cautiously, listening carefully as she waited for a response.

Buffy and Faith's eyes met then, a steely determination suddenly set in both of them.

"We'll be down in five minutes."

* * *

><p>Xander and Willow, along with a handful of the younger slayers and several of the young witches-in-training, sat around the control room and anxiously awaited Buffy and Faith. Willow's training exercise with the young witches had unearthed a discovery that couldn't be taken lightly given all that had happened in New York months back. There was the slightest chance that it could've been some kind of weird magical blip that amounted to nothing. Willow knew better though. She could practically <em>feel<em> it now that she knew what she was looking for.

It didn't even take Buffy and Faith five minutes to reach the control room. All eyes were on them as they walked in, an air of determination around them.

"What's going on in New York?" Buffy asked immediately, her arms crossed over her chest as she stopped just in front of her friends.

"We're not really sure yet. We only just found out about it right before Willow let you know there might be a problem. The squad in New York hasn't been able to verify anything for us yet but Robin said all's been quiet there," Xander offered.

Ever since the showdown had happened with the FBI, Robin and the squad of slayers in New York had kept a vigilant watch over what was once the Dollhouse. The building had been completely emptied out except for the few FBI agents that still remained working on the scene. Even the accounting firm on the lower level had been shut down and investigated.

The Dollhouse, for all intents and purposes, was no longer.

"Then what seems to be the problem?" Faith asked, her arms crossed over her chest in the very same stance that Buffy was in.

Willow stepped forward and beckoned Buffy and Faith closer to the monitor that was just behind them. They leaned down to have a closer look while Willow began to explain.

"The coven and I were working on some spells together, you know, just basic stuff to help them learn. We did a bit of conjuring but the girls have gotten so good at it that we decided to try something a bit more advanced. I thought it might be a good idea to teach them how to read essences so that they can help to locate specific slayers while in battle."

"You can do that?" Buffy asked.

"Easily. Reading essences is one of the first things a Wicca learns. Locating that essence across a distance and transmuting that image to another medium is where it gets tricky. That's what I was teaching the girls to do, and that's when we stumbled upon this."

She looked down at the monitor which showed a basic outline of the map of the world. Most major cities were labeled on it, as were individual countries. Standing out from the basic image, though, were four bright white lights that shimmered and glowed.

"What are those?" Faith asked, pointing to one of the shimmering white lights.

"Well," Willow began, "the girls were getting really good at locating and transmuting the essences to the screen, so I decided I needed to toughen it up for them. I remembered that after we left the US, we were worried that the demon population was going to gun for Buffy. We needed to distract and divert their forces so we made decoy-Buffy's. Now, in order to trick any demons that had essence reading abilities, we had to transfer some of Buffy's essence to the decoys. It acts as a magical masking device. Sabrina in Rome has been acting as a retired Buffy on the surface world, and Joanna has been acting as Buffy in the demon underworld in Brazil. The demons of the world have been none-the-wiser to our little ruse."

Buffy and Faith shifted their attention from the shimmering white light hovering over Rome to the same shimmering white light hovering over Brazil as Willow explained. Sure enough when they looked up to Scotland, there was another shimmering white light that was just the tiniest bit brighter than the other two.

None of that, however, explained . . .

"So who the hell is this one?" Faith asked, tapping the shimmering white light over New York that matched the light hovering over Scotland perfectly.

"We're not sure yet. All we know is she's definitely not one of ours," Willow said quietly, carefully watching Buffy's face for some kind of a reaction.

"I think we're all making the same assumption here," Xander said. When nobody replied, he looked suddenly embarrassed. "Wait, we are all making the same assumption, right?"

All gazes fell on Buffy again who was still staring at the monitor, her jaw clenched tightly. She leaned down, rested her palms on the edge of the desk, and exhaled loudly through her nose.

"I've been cloned."

Startling everyone, she banged her palms loudly on the desk. A moment later, she straightened up, turned around, and walked out of the control room.

* * *

><p>Echo awoke with a start, the sheets clinging to her sweaty body as she sat up on her bed. She was breathing heavily, her chest rising and falling rapidly as she recalled her dream. Faith had told her about slayer dreams. Hell, she was sure that she'd had her share of them. She'd watched Buffy die and Kendra get called. She'd watched Kendra die and herself – Faith – get called. She'd seen all manner of slayers in her dreams through a landscape of different times and places. The dreams had been a bit disorienting at first, sure, but none of them had ever scared her.<p>

She was strong. Fast. She knew that there was nothing that could stop her . . . almost nothing that could stop her. Was it that way for all slayers?

_Faith, wait!_

_I know you. I know your face. I feel you._

_We have to help her!_

Quickly closing her eyes, Echo shook her head and tried to erase the image from her mind. No slayer dreams had ever been like that before. None had ever showed her something that hadn't happened yet.

Heck, for all she knew, it wasn't a slayer dream. Maybe it was just a nightmare; a good, old-fashioned nightmare. If that was the case though, why was her body reacting in the way it was, and why did she keep having the same dream over and over?

Sighing deeply, she reached over to her nightstand and grabbed her mobile phone. There was only one number programmed in it, and only one number that she ever dialed, so she hit the send button and lifted the phone to her ear without even watching the screen.

There were a series of clicks and connecting beeps before the line began to ring and finally a gruff voice answered, _"Yeah?"_

"It's me," Echo said tentatively. She didn't like the tone of Faith's voice.

"_Oh, hey,"_ Faith replied, the dark tone in her voice lightening up just a little bit. _"What's up?"_

"The usual."

"_Usual can be good."_

"Yeah, definitely."

There was a bit of an awkward pause as suddenly neither girl knew quite what to say or how to proceed. They were generally quiet when they were around one another, but this kind of awkwardness was new, unwelcome. Faith tried to change that.

"_How's the house coming along?"_

"Slowly. It's a process."

"_You just don't like drivin' down to Bernie's cos you know he's itchin to fix ya up with . . ." _

"Do you ever have nightmares?" Echo interrupted, unable to hold in the question any longer.

"_Life of a killer,"_ Faith said after thinking it over for a moment or two. _ "Kinda figure it's part of the price, yunno?"_

"Yeah," Echo answered and a brief silence fell over them again. "But like . . . your slayer dreams - do they ever show you things that haven't happened yet and then turn into some kinda big crazy nightmare?"

There was a long pause on the other end of the line. She knew that Faith was still there, could hear her breathing. She could practically hear the wheels turning in her head through the silence.

"_What are you dreaming of?"_ Faith asked, her voice dangerously low.

And really, how could she explain it all? She didn't understand what she was seeing or how or when. There was only one thing she knew for sure.

"I think Buffy's in trouble."


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter Three**

Things at the new dollhouse were busier than they'd been since the secret second location had opened. They'd brought in nine new dolls in the last week alone to meet the growing demand. Unlike Adele's house, this house didn't facilitate romantic engagements or any type of everyday life situations.

Why run a common escort service when they were already rampant in most major cities?

No, Maggie Walsh was a military woman and she tended to choose her clientele based on their engagements and on things she was practiced in: science, combat, and protection. The world climate was changing. Threat of world war hung over the head of every human, every day. A global black market for some kind of super-soldier was growing and she had a secret weapon that would put all other attempts to shame.

Her moment of intense self-pride was interrupted by the sound of someone quietly struggling nearby. She none-too-gently put her tumbler of scotch down on her desk and walked over to the door, anxious to see what was happening on the other side. She was more than surprised to find Juliet there having some kind of disagreement with one of the potted trees.

"Juliet?" she asked, her voice deceptively soft. "What on earth are you doing?"

The pot was tipped over on its side with the soil spilling out onto the marble tiles. The branches from the small, leafy tree were covering the floor and the inch-wide trunk was damaged in several areas. Juliet looked up at Maggie innocently, a soil-y smudge on her cheek.

"I'm trying to be my best. The girls in my dreams; they all have small trees in their hands." She paused and looked down at her dirty fingers, then back up at Maggie. "My hands are empty."

"As they should be," Maggie replied and offered Juliet a hand which the girl reluctantly took and stood up, bringing them face to face. "Pay no attention to your dreams, Juliet. They're not real."

"They feel real. I can feel them in here," Juliet pointed to her heart, then to her head, "and here."

Maggie studied her for several long moments, wondering exactly what was going on inside that pretty little head of hers. She couldn't wait to be able to crack it open and find out once and for all. Just as she was about to reply, something caught her eye from the side and she saw Riley and another handler quickly heading down the hall toward them. He looked relieved, which probably meant that he'd been looking for his active for a while now.

"There you are, Juliet," he said, smiling nervously as he looked between her and Maggie.

"Hello, Riley," Juliet replied pleasantly.

"You were supposed to be at your yoga class," he said with a nervous smile but Juliet just continued to look at him innocently, completely unfazed. "Would you like a treatment?"

"I enjoy my treatments."

"Shall we?" he asked as he held his arm out down the hall. When Juliet nodded and walked past him toward the programming room, the smile fell from his face when he saw the look Maggie was giving him. "It won't happen again, ma'am."

"See to it that it doesn't. And find someone to clean this mess," is all that Maggie replied before walking back into her office and slamming the door shut behind her.

Riley looked down and closed his eyes, shaking his head slightly as he fought to keep his composure. A moment later and he quickly turned and headed after Juliet, hoping that she wouldn't get him into any more trouble.

* * *

><p>The transport center of the New York slayer cell glowed blue for the second time in that day as a portal opened to let yet another group of people through. A few young slayers were already waiting with trash cans for the expected queasiness of their new visitors but the anticipated round of portal-sickness never started. Instead, Buffy and Faith stepped through with a look of pure determination on their faces and not even a hint of nausea.<p>

"Where are Kennedy and Robin?" Buffy asked as the portal glowed and sparked behind her.

A young slayer stepped forward and saluted her – actually saluted! – and replied, "They're having a meeting in the central command room, ma'am. One of our recon teams had some new information to share and they didn't want to waste any more time."

Buffy nodded and Faith said a brief 'thanks' before they headed off toward the command center, leaving the portal still swirling behind them. The slayers still standing there eyed it suspiciously and nearly jumped out of their skin when Xander came stumbling through with several slayer-issue bags slung over his arms and shoulders. He fought to regain his balance for several seconds and smiled proudly when he finally caught it, standing up straight and tall.

His smile faltered for a moment . . . and then he promptly bent over and hurled all over the place. The young slayers grimaced and groaned, trying their best not to watch as he seemed to turn inside out before their very eyes.

"Knew I shouldn't have had that sushi for lunch," he said with a hiccup as he wiped the back of his hand over his mouth. Suddenly noticing that his travel companions were missing, he furrowed his brow. "Either I came alone or I came very fast." He paused and then quickly added, "Wow, that came out so very, _very_ wrong. But just to clarify, that usually never happens to me. I mean, unless I'm tired. And even then, rare. _So_ rare. I'm talking dodo bird rare."

One of the slayers pointed him in the direction of the impromptu meeting in the command center and he nodded, laughing nervously. He was struggling to carry all of the bags but there was no way was he going to let his manliness take a hit by letting Buffy and Faith carry their own luggage.

He was a man. A manly man. A manly man with a group of teenage girls giggling at him now. Taking that as his cue to leave, he gathered the bags – and the last of his self-esteem – and headed off down the corridor to the command center.

The portal had already snapped, crackled, and popped itself closed, but before anyone could clean up Xander's mess, a third portal opened. Just like Buffy and Faith, Willow and Echo walked through calmly and casually, taking in their new surroundings. Echo was so busy looking around that she failed to notice that she'd walked into Xander's mess until it was too late.

"Oh, that's wicked gross," she mumbled to herself as she lifted up her foot and grimaced.

"Oops! My bad," Willow said apologetically. "I should've warned you to watch your step. You'll get used to this whole portal-travel thing in a jiff."

"The learning curve seems pretty steep," Echo said distastefully as she tried to clean off the bottom of her shoe on a concrete step, ignoring her own woozy stomach. "Got a place where a girl can get cleaned up around here?"

"Sure, of course," Willow replied with a smile. "Vacant dorms are up on the third floor. They're all pretty much the same so take your pick, though Xander usually takes the third on the left and Buffy and Faith take the fourth on the right."

Echo's eyebrow twitched at hearing Buffy's name but she kept her cool and offered Willow a small smile before adjusting the bag on her shoulder and heading over to the rear staircase. Willow watched her go until she'd disappeared up the steps and then turned to the slayers.

"That's the last of us. You guys can join the others in the command center as soon as the portal closes up. I have a feeling they're gonna need everyone involved in this mission."

* * *

><p>Echo counted the doors as she slowly made her way down the dim corridor with her slayer-issued duffle bag slung over her shoulder. She wasn't exactly part of the slayer team these days but that hadn't stopped Faith from hooking her up with the fancy gear everyone else had before they'd gone off on their journey together months back.<p>

She came to a stop when she reached the third door on the right and looked back and forth between the doors on either side of her. Shit. She should have been paying more attention to what Willow had been saying. Xander gets the third room on the right while Buffy and Faith take the fourth on the left? That sounded about right. Not wanting to share a wall with Buffy and Faith, Echo stepped up to the room past Xander's and tried the doorknob, smiling when it twisted easily open.

"Home sweet home," she mumbled to herself as she walked in and closed the door behind her. She stopped only to drop her bag on the bed before beginning to pull her clothes off as she made her way into the bathroom.

* * *

><p>Willow entered the command area and quickly took a seat next to Kennedy, giving her a brief kiss on the cheek and trying her best not to interrupt the meeting that was already in progress. Robin was at the front of the room and explaining some of the footage one of the teams had taken earlier in a newly renovated building in upper Manhattan that had seen a flurry of activity lately. Buffy and Faith were sitting front and center, their gazes fixated on the large screen before them. Faith had her hand on Buffy's lower back and her thumb was gently caressing the exposed skin there; it was probably the only thing keeping Buffy grounded at the moment.<p>

Ever since they'd found out about the possibility of a Buffy-clone two days before, Buffy had been in a state that no one quite knew how to deal with. The only person she let close was Faith, and that was really only because Faith insisted on staying with her every step of the way. As far as girlfriends went, she was doing the job perfectly.

No one quite knew why she'd insisted Echo tag along but they didn't think twice to question her motives when she'd said that it was important. Faith hadn't exactly gotten around to telling anyone about Echo's dreams but she didn't want to get them nervous for nothing until she talked with Echo and figured out what was happening. They'd talk as soon as Echo arrived from Texas. Besides, maybe having someone along that had lived inside a functioning dollhouse before would come in handy. At this point they needed all of the luck that they could get.

"What you're looking at here is the site of the former dollhouse. You'll notice that there's still a strong police presence as well as tight security from all angles. We've managed to briefly get a two-man team inside and they corroborate what we'd already suspected: the house is no longer functioning," Robin said.

"This is news?" Faith asked with one of her eyebrows arched.

"Keep your pants on, he's getting to the good part," Kennedy said, ignoring the look Faith gave her.

Robin clicked a button on the remote control in his hand and a new picture came up on the screen.

"One of our teams stumbled upon this when they were chasing a pod of Var a'shad demons throughout the sewers. They were in the secondary line and it came to a dead stop. That gave them the idea that it was probably some kind of security measure to stop any possible intruders from getting into the building from underneath it," he explained. "Seeing as that Willow was able to give us a four block radius to work with for where the unknown Buffy is, the team put two and two together and figured it was worth checking out."

"So when they were done slicing and dicing Var a'shad ass, they went to the surface and got their spy-game on," Kennedy jumped in. She stood up and took the remote from Robin's hand, ignoring his glare. "That's when they saw this."

She clicked a button on the remote control and the picture jumped to life. All eyes looked toward the screen again as a plain black van pulled up to the building and was greeted by an armed military guard before being allowed in the underground lot. The guard walked back into a small booth and waited there for a few moments until another vehicle approached. He smiled and saluted the driver, and that was where Kennedy paused the video.

"Keep your eyes on the driver side mirror," she said as she clicked a few more buttons and zoomed in several times, then enhanced the picture.

Buffy squinted a bit and then wrinkled her nose when she realized who it was.

"Riley? What's he doing there?" she asked, confused.

"That's the question of the day," Kennedy said as she crossed her arms over her chest and glared at the screen.

"We haven't been able to dig up much info on the building," Robin cut in. "It was purchased late last year by private shareholders and we can't find a paper trail connecting them to AFH or Adelle DeWitt. That being said, we can't really find a paper trail at all."

"Sounds a little too similar to when you guys were researchin' AFH," Faith said.

"Yeah, but it's Riley, guys. _Riley,_" Buffy said his name slowly for effect. "He's always been one of the good guys, even when he was working for the not-so-good guys."

"And now he's working for the not-so-good guys again, Buffy. You told us that yourself; he's with the Initiative again," Kennedy replied.

Buffy took a deep breath and sighed. She wanted so much to believe that whatever Riley was doing with the Initiative was completely separate from anything Adelle DeWitt had been involved with, but deep down in her gut she knew that she couldn't put it past The Initiative to be involved in something sneaky and illicit.

"She's right, B," Faith said quietly, her voice soft and low as she continued to rub Buffy's back with her thumb. "We should probably check it out, cross it off on the list of suspects so that we can move on to the next contender."

Buffy didn't speak; instead she nodded as she looked sadly down at her lap. Why did everyone around her always seem to turn on her at some point? If Riley was even partly responsible for her clone running around New York, well . . . that was certainly unforgivable and not something she could just let go. Not when he'd contacted her under the pretense of friendship during her last visit to New York.

"That's set then," Kennedy said, determined. "We'll wait until we have the cover of night to check the place out."

"Everyone who's going, rendezvous in the transport center at 10:00pm sharp," Robin said. "Everyone who's not, make sure you're back in the command center by then. You're gonna be our eyes and ears from here."

All of the younger slayers, along with Robin, Xander, Willow and Kennedy stood up from their seats and gradually left the room, headed off in different directions throughout the building. Buffy and Faith were the only ones who remained in the room, the few young slayers that were stationed there having taken the hint to give them a few minutes alone.

Buffy didn't say anything but just found herself stepping into Faith's waiting embrace. She pressed her forehead against Faith's shoulder and breathed deeply, trying to relax.

"It'll be okay, B. We'll check out the lead and go from there," Faith tried to soothe her.

"Do you really think Riley is involved in all of this?" Buffy asked.

Faith thought about that for a minute. She hadn't really had a good opportunity to ever get to know the guy when she was body swapping years ago. All she knew for sure was that he loved Buffy, he could barely master missionary in bed, and that no matter how nice he seemed, he was still working for a shady organization. She didn't quite want to tell it to Buffy like that though so instead she shrugged and kissed the top of Buffy's head.

"I dunno. But if he is? We're gonna handle it. We're slayers, girlfriend. It's what we do."

"Slayers kill vampires and demons. Evil, human-cloning corporations aren't supposed to be our forte."

"What can I say? We're branching out. Besides, I don't care if they're demons or not. If they're messing with my girl, they just made an enemy outta me."

Buffy chuckled softly and looked up at Faith, a soft smile playing at the corners of her lips. She brushed her thumb over Faith's cheek and then let her fingertips push softly into her hair.

"I don't know what I'd do without you," she said honestly.

"Probably burn the motor out on your vibe," Faith replied and laughed when Buffy used her other hand to pinch her side. "Jeez, I'm kidding! Mercy!"

Buffy tried her best to pout but couldn't help but smile through it. "I was trying to be serious, jerk."

"I know, I know," Faith said and ran her hands down Buffy's arms until their fingers were interlaced. "Hey, I've got a good idea. How 'bout you head on up to our room and get a nice hot shower goin' for us and I'll go and get our bags and meet you upstairs? We can kick back and relax for a bit before we go all covert ops later."

"Mmm, that sounds good. I can use a bit of relaxing."

"Good, it's settled. Gonna grab our bags and meet you up there. Maybe I'll even do that thing you like with my tongue," Faith said and wriggled her eyebrows as she took a step backwards.

"It's a date," Buffy said, smiling. "Ooh, wait. I'm gonna go a check in with Willow really quickly and make sure that she doesn't need me for any locator spells. First one up gets things started?"

"Sounds like a plan."

Buffy yanked Faith back against her and gave her a quick peck on the lips before squeezing her hands. They took off in separate directions, both anxious to get upstairs so they could spend a bit of time together before things started to get intense later.

* * *

><p>It was nearly ten minutes later when Buffy finally made it up the stairs to the dorms and down the hall to their usual room. Willow had taken the opportunity to talk her ear off about the different kind of locator spells she was going to use, complete with all of the technical jargon that went completely over Buffy's head. She'd smiled and nodded like a good friend, though; Willow was doing this for her, after all. Without her, they never would have known about the clone in the first place.<p>

She stopped at the fourth door on the right and smiled when she could feel Faith before she even entered the room. Knowing her girlfriend, she was probably already buck naked and watching cartoons while waiting for her.

Smiling, Buffy opened the door and walked in, surprised to find the room bathed in darkness except for the light coming from the partially opened bathroom door. The thick curtains were drawn and the only sound in the room was that of falling water from the shower. The scent of blackberry amber shower gel filled the air and Buffy almost pouted when she'd realized Faith had started without her.

She didn't waste any time getting undressed and nearly tumbled over when she was pushing her tight jeans over her hips. The wall was the only thing that stopped her from falling as her palm hit it with a gentle thud.

"Someone here?" Came Faith's voice from the shower.

"It's just me. I can't believe you started without me!"

"…what?"

"Nevermind, it doesn't matter," Buffy said as she removed the last of her clothes and walked into the bathroom completely naked. "I love Willow like a sister but the girl can really talk your ear off. I didn't mean to take so long."

She pulled the shower curtain back just enough to slip inside without the water dousing the tiled floor and quickly shut it behind her. Faith was facing the showerhead and looking a little bit tense herself. Smiling softly, Buffy wrapped her hands around Faith's waist and let them rest on her stomach as she pressed her lips against the back of her wet neck.

"I'm sorry. I'm deflecting my stress onto you and that's not fair."

"Umm, Buffy?"

"Shh. Maybe I can help get rid of some of that stress."

She began to slip her hands slowly down Faith's stomach and grinned proudly when Faith actually trembled at her touch. A sound from the other room startled her but not as much as the voice she heard walk into the bathroom a moment after.

"Jeez, a bit anxious to get things started, B?" Faith asked with a chuckle from the other side of the curtain.

Now it was Buffy's turn to say, "Umm…?"

Thinking quickly, she slipped her hands higher on the abdomen she'd been busy groping and panicked when she couldn't feel the scar she knew should be there.

"Oh boy . . ." she uttered just as Faith pulled back the shower curtain from the other side.

Faith's eyes widened comically as she looked in on a wide-eyed Buffy and a completely naked, wet, and blushing Echo.

"What the . . . ?" Faith managed to say just as Buffy made a mad dash from the shower and into the bedroom with nothing to cover her modesty but a small washcloth.

"I . . . didn't see anything," Echo said quickly as she grabbed the shower curtain and slid it shut.

Faith looked from the shower, to the bedroom door, and then back to the shower before shaking her head and running a hand through her long hair.

"Oh man. Coulda been the hottest threesome ever."

* * *

><p>"You have to stop wandering off like that," Riley said softly as he helped Juliet clean her hands off in one of the porcelain sinks.<p>

"Why?" Juliet asked. She was watching the way his large hands softly rubbed at her much smaller ones, every motion gentle and even.

"Because it's not safe. I can't protect you if you're constantly taking off every time I turn my back."

"Protect me from what?"

Riley looked around them cautiously and then down into Juliet's questioning green eyes.

"From everyone. Everything. You're very special, Juliet. They don't understand you and they want to find out what makes you work. Please don't give them a reason to do that. Just do as you're told and you'll be safe."

Obviously his old feelings for Buffy were clouding his judgment and his ability to perform his job as specified. He was supposed to be her handler, not her friend. Looking into Juliet's eyes day after day, though, he knew he couldn't let any harm come to her.

"Okay. I'm sorry, Riley. I'll try to be my best."

He watched her silently for a moment, his guilt threatening to consume him. Instead he shook it off and gently patted her now cleaned hands with a towel.

"Come on, Reagan is waiting to give you your treatment."

Riley led Juliet through the double doors and into the imprint room where the programmer was waiting with his assistant.

"You're late," Reagan said stoically, noting the clock on the wall.

"We had some technical difficulties," Riley replied, avoiding his gaze as he helped Juliet into the chair. "She's ready now though."

"Oh, goody."

Reagan stepped behind his console and waited for Juliet to finish fidgeting before he finally ran the program, a small smile on his face. There was nothing more exciting than seeing one of his flawless imprints being used on their most deadly doll.

The machine whirred quietly and Juliet reclined back in the imprinting chair, her head resting back comfortably on the headrest. She kept her eyes locked on Riley's as it began to tilt back, a soft smile on her face. No sooner than she was fully reclined did her body go rigid as the imprint started to upload.

Less than a minute passed and the chair started to rise back to its regular position. Juliet tilted her head to the left, then right, letting her neck crack twice. When the chair stopped moving, her eyes shot opened and a little grin played at her lips.

"Guess who's baaaack?" she sing-songed.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter Four**

Buffy had been hiding completely naked under the blankets of the bed for more than five minutes before Faith had finally managed to convince her to come out and get dressed. Buffy only half-listened; she yanked her clothes from Faith's hands and got dressed under the blankets before making a mad dash for the hallway. Faith watched her go until she'd disappeared into the room across the hall, chuckling quietly the whole time.

While Buffy was embarrassed about the situation, Faith just found it funny as hell. It was a simple accident and there was no reason to be upset over it.

She decided to give Buffy a few more minutes to be embarrassed and walked over to the bathroom door, giving it a quick knock before she opened it up a crack so that Echo could hear her. The shower was still running but she caught Echo's reflection in the mirror and realized that the girl was quietly sitting on the edge of the tub with a towel wrapped around her. She pushed open the door a little wider and leaned against the frame, waiting for Echo to look up at her. When their eyes met, Faith offered her a friendly smile.

"Interesting first day back with the gang, huh," she asked.

"Think your girl is gonna be traumatized for life," Echo replied quietly but with a small smile. She reached behind her and turned the water off so that they could speak easier. When Faith raised an eyebrow at her, she explained, "Didn't wanna snoop on whatever convo followed that whole deal."

Again, Faith laughed and shook her head. "Really wasn't much said besides me laughin' and tellin' her to get dressed. And don't worry about B, she'll get over it. Hell, pretty soon it'll probably be one of those fantasies that gets her through the long, lonely nights when I'm on a mission."

She winked at Echo and Echo kind of laughed, but she looked more troubled than anything and Faith instantly picked up on it.

"Listen, if you're worried about what happened in here, it ain't a big deal."

"Kinda not what I'm worried about," Echo replied quietly, looking deep into Faith's eyes.

Faith nodded but didn't say anything. She knew exactly what Echo was talking about seeing as that it had been their topic of conversation every time Faith could sneak a phone call to her over the last two days.

"Have you had any more dreams?"

Echo shrugged, "Variations of the same one. Doesn't matter how they're different though; they all end the same way."

"And you're sure it's B? The slayer dreams are usually big on the vague."

"I'm sure," Echo said solemnly. "I have no clue where it is but it's definitely another dollhouse. We charge in there all gung-ho but . . . something happens. I dunno what. I can't save her, though. She's in my arms and I feel our connection die."

Faith took in a deep breath through her nose and exhaled slowly. The pain she felt in her chest every time she thought about Echo's dream was indescribable but she couldn't let it get the best of her. If Buffy was going to die in the dollhouse, she'd do everything she could to stop it or die trying herself.

"Well, that basically settles the plan then: we can't take B with us. Gonna have to figure out a way to leave her behind without makin' her feel left behind. If she thinks we're bein' sneaky about something she's gonna come with us outta spite so it's time to be honest."

Faith took a step back and looked towards the exit of the room, then sighed deeply. No way was Buffy gonna be happy about any of this; especially the fact that Faith had known about the dream for two days now.

"Want me to come with? I doubt she'll try to kick your ass if I'm there with ya," Echo offered, and Faith found herself chuckling.

"That's where you're wrong; she'd kick both our asses. Nah, it's better if I do this alone. If ya hear me yelling for mercy, feel free to interrupt. Otherwise, we're meetin' downstairs at 10:00 and goin' to scout a building downtown."

"I'll be there," Echo replied with a nod.

Faith offered Echo one last quick smile and made her way out of the room and across the hall.

Echo gave her a second before getting up and following her to the door. By the time she peeked out into the hall Faith had already disappeared into another room, but she just stood there for a moment and frowned.

"Sorry, Buffy," she apologized softly before stepping back into her room and closing the door behind her.

* * *

><p>Faith walked in the room to find Buffy sitting on the bed with her back against the headboard, her legs under the blankets and the remote control in her hand. She was flicking through the channels but Faith could tell that she wasn't paying attention. Deciding what her best move was, she walked over to the TV and switched it off, then kicked off her boots before crawling onto the bed next to Buffy. She laid on her back and rested her head on Buffy's lap so that she could look up into her face.<p>

Buffy stared down at her with an embarrassed smile on her face and she absently began to stroke Faith's soft hair.

"I thought she was you," she said quietly.

"I know, B. Ain't gotta worry, I'm not pissed. She was in our room. Accidents happen."

"I know, but . . . it shouldn't have," Buffy said softly, staring into Faith's eyes. "You and I . . .we're connected. I should be able to tell the difference between my girlfriend and my non-girlfriend."

Faith frowned as she listened to Buffy speak. She hated that Buffy felt so bad about the situation when, really, it couldn't have been helped.

"You're connected to her too," Faith admitted quietly. "She's _me_. An exact copy of me, whatever. And just like me, she has feelings for you. They were in me when they made her from my blood. You're gonna feel that pull with her and I get that."

"Does that mean you're gonna feel the same pull with my clone?"

Faith shrugged, "I dunno. I'm not a science guy so I don't know how that shit works, but if they got your blood after we were together? Then your clone's gonna love me too. And she's physically _you_, B. I can only imagine I'd feel that pull, but it don't matter."

"It does matter, which is why I'm gonna make sure she keeps her fake-Buffy hands off of you," Buffy said with a playful smile.

Faith smiled in reply but it quickly faded when she realized that she had to break the bad news. This could get . . . interesting.

"Actually, you're gonna have to trust that I can keep my hands to myself."

Buffy's hand stilled as it ran through Faith's hair and she narrowed her eyes suspiciously. "And why is that?"

"Because you're stayin' here."

A long tense silence settled around them as they had a mini staring contest. This was something they were still working on in their relationship. They weren't used to taking orders from other people – especially from each other – so they'd clash over the simplest things on occasion. Faith could see that Buffy was trying to keep her cool, so she just sat quietly and waited for her to respond.

"This is personal, Faith. Someone _stole_ my blood. They used it to make some kind of imposter-Buffy and god knows what they're making her do. I'm going," Buffy finally replied, her hand moving in Faith's hair again.

"You're forgetting that I wrote that tune first, babe," Faith said, then sat up so she could face Buffy. "And trust me, ain't nothin' sweeter than catching the people who did it. But this is one fight you're gonna sit out of." Buffy opened her mouth to speak but Faith cut her off right away. "I'm not asking you, B; I'm tellin' you."

Again Buffy went to speak, but this time she stopped herself. She studied Faith's resolve face and quietly noted that it was a lot scarier than Willow's, then decided to give her the benefit of the doubt. She wouldn't argue if Faith had a valid explanation.

"Why?"

Faith took a deep breath and exhaled it slowly. Now or never.

"Because Echo keeps havin' slayer dreams. Long story short, bad things are gonna happen."

"Faith, I . . ."

"To you." Faith finished, effectively silencing Buffy. She watched as several emotions played across the blonde's face and decided to continue before Buffy hit anger. "Now if you really think I'm gonna let you tag along when a slayer dream is showing some wicked bad stuff, you don't know me at all. Don't care if I gotta tie ya to the bed to keep ya here, and believe me when I say I won't be using something as nice as silk scarves this time."

And there was so much Buffy wanted to say, and do; screaming in anger and frustration was on the top of that list, but instead she nodded her head and let Faith take her hand.

Faith stared into her eyes, trying to convey that everything would be okay – that _she_ would make everything okay – and when she saw Buffy's nod, she breathed a sigh of relief. She really didn't like the idea of locking her girlfriend up somewhere just to keep her from getting in trouble.

The idea of something bad happening to Buffy was even worse though and Faith couldn't help herself as she leaned in and kissed her hard on the mouth.

Buffy instantly gave in and wrapped her arms around Faith's back, pulling her as close as they could get. There was an ache deep in her chest and she knew what it was; it was love. The thought of something happening to keep them apart; it was too much to handle. It made her heart ache and her eyes tear up, and it made her cling that much tighter as they slipped down the mattress together and started removing their clothing piece by annoying piece.

It seemed like they'd only just found each other, and they weren't about to lose that now. Not for anything or anyone.

* * *

><p>It was hours later when Faith finally emerged from their dark bedroom to find their bags waiting for them just outside the door. She quietly dragged them in, careful not to wake a still-napping Buffy. She got dressed in her mission clothing as quietly and stealthily as possibly and actually managed not to wake Buffy up. When she was all settled and ready to head out, she walked over to the bed and knelt down on one knee. She used her fingertips to push long strands of blonde hair from her face, then leaned in and pressed the softest of kisses. Buffy mumbled quietly but didn't wake, and Faith could only smile as she looked at her peaceful face.<p>

"Love you," she whispered, then stood up and grabbed her bag of weapons before making her way out of the room.

She'd expected there to be more commotion in the hall but it was still completely quiet and empty. Focusing her senses, she could tell that Echo was in her room across the hall and she knocked quietly on the door to get her attention. A moment later, Echo opened the door, a mirror image of Faith even in the dim light from the bedroom behind her.

"Nice outfit," Echo said with a smirk.

"Slayer-issued," Faith replied back, smiling. "Ready to get this show on the road?"

"Yeah. I'll meet ya downstairs, just gotta grab my gear."

Echo watched and waited as Faith nodded and disappeared down the hall, then turned and went back into her room to collect her gear. The bed was freshly made, though she hadn't had a wink of sleep. The pillow smelled too much like Buffy from when she'd hidden under the blankets and it was too distracting and just too damn painful to have to deal with that. Instead, Echo had curled up on the armchair in the corner and watched a bit of TV. She'd watched the color of the sun change over the Manhattan skyline through the small window, then as the sky changed from blue to black.

Still, her mind never left Buffy and what she'd seen in her dream. She shook her head to try to remove the images but they played again and again no matter what she did. Determined to help make things right and make sure that Buffy stayed safe, she grabbed her bag of gear and made her way to the door. She barely took a step out when the door across the hall and Buffy stepped out, fully dressed and ready to go. Both Buffy and Echo froze when they saw each other, but it was Echo who spoke first.

"Pretty fancy clothes for a night in," she said as she stepped fully into the hall and closed her bedroom door behind her.

"Yeah, I just . . ." Buffy began and stumbled over her words as she tried to come up with a good lie.

"Don't bother, Buffy; I know just what you think you're doing."

Buffy stopped trying to cover and stared defiantly at Echo. And . . . did she just put her hand on her hip? Echo couldn't help but chuckle. This girl really was something.

"Listen," Echo continued, "I know you're itchin' to get the bad guy. Hell, I am too. But if you could see what I do in my dreams? You'd be hiding at the back of your closet right now. It's not safe for you, Buffy."

"I know," Buffy said quietly. "But the safety of a situation has never stopped me from jumping in. It's part of the job description."

Echo nodded in understanding and narrowed her eyes as if she was deep in thought when she asked, "Part of the slayer gig is keepin' people safe too, right?" At Buffy's node, she continued, "Well how safe do you think Faith is gonna be if she's constantly looking out for you?"

A look of understanding suddenly crossed Buffy's face as Echo's words sunk in. It wasn't just about her safety. Sure, she was the one who was in trouble in the dream, but that didn't mean that she was the only one that could get hurt. Swallowing loudly, Buffy nodded again and took a step back into her room, her hand resting on the doorframe as she met Echo's gaze again.

"I'm sorry about . . . earlier. I didn't know . . ."

"Hey, it's okay," Echo quickly interrupted. "And besides? Total high point of my day." She winked at Buffy who had the common decency to blush, then started walking backwards down the hall to the stairwell. "Got your word that you're gonna stay here and behave?"

Buffy smiled and nodded, "I'll stay, but I can't promise I'll behave."

Echo laughed and then turned around, a little bit of an extra skip in her step. Buffy watched her until she disappeared down the stairs, her head tilted to the side.

"Faith was right; hottest threesome ever. Damn."

* * *

><p>Everyone was already in the transport center and waiting for their orders when Echo walked in and stood next to Faith. All eyes were on the two of them as every slayer and non-slayer alike stood in awe of their similarities. Faith tolerated it for about six seconds before she groaned and pushed off of the wall she'd been resting against.<p>

"Oh, for fuck's sake . . . yes, we look alike. Get your ogling over with cos once we walk through that portal, if I see one person with their guard down, I'm gonna crack some skulls."

Suddenly it seemed as though everyone found something else interesting to look at. Well, everyone except for Andrew who was staring at Faith with dreamy eyes. She'd never understand that kid; wasn't he supposed to be gay or something?

"We ready to do this?" Faith asked, her voice much less harsh than it had been a moment ago.

"I'd say it's time to get in there and find some bad guys," Kennedy replied, hopping up from the stone ledge she was perched on and cracking her knuckles.

"What about Buffy?" Willow asked.

Faith and Echo shared a look and Faith sighed as she looked back at the expectant group.

"I asked her not to come." Seeing the confused look she was getting from damn near everyone – and why wouldn't they be confused; Buffy was their leader – she decided to elaborate. "Echo's been getting' slayer dreams."

"What? Why didn't you tell us earlier?" Willow sounded frazzled and that was never a good sign.

"Cos she only told me about them two days ago and I wanted a chance to talk with her face-to-face before we decided if it's a bad thing or not," Faith answered easily enough.

"And the outcome of that?" Willow asked, looking between Faith and Echo.

When Faith looked over at her too, Echo took that as her cute to step in.

"It's a bad thing," she replied sadly. "I keep seeing Buffy die, and it wasn't one of her other deaths either. It's something new. I hold her as she dies. I think we all know how much that _can't_ happen, so she's sitting out until we're sure she's safe. And, uh, someone might wanna keep an eye on her cos I just saw her tryin' to creep outta her room upstairs."

"What? She was sleepin!" Faith said with disbelief.

"Yeah, well . . . she was faking it," Echo replied, trying to hide her smile. "Had a chat with her; she agreed to stay here."

"Yeah, right," Faith said, disgruntled. "Alright, listen up. Change of plans. We're goin' in three teams and we're gonna split up. Echo and Rona are leading one team and me and Vi are taking another. Rob, gonna need you to keep a group of girls with you in the sewers in case we need backup."

"I'll stay with Robin, make sure the girls have a handle on the sitch," Kennedy said, hopping excitedly from foot to foot.

"'fraid not, Ken-doll. You're stayin' here with your girl to keep an eye on things here," Faith replied.

"What?" Kennedy asked angrily. "That's bullshit, Faith. I'm the best fighter we have. You need me there with you."

"You're right, Ken; you're the best one here. But we're not going to fight; we're going to scout. And if Buffy starts gettin' ornery, I need you to keep her here. She's the original slayer, kid, and you're the only one that's gonna be able to hold her back."

While Kennedy was still upset at her sudden demotion, she seemed to understand why Faith needed her to stay and she gave her a quick nod in compliance. Willow laced her fingers through Kennedy's and tried to console her even further.

"And Kenny, I'll be here with you too," she said cheerfully. "We can sneak some smoochies when no one's looking." Her smile was incandescent and Kennedy couldn't help but smile at her girlfriend.

With that situation smoothed over, Faith was ready to get this over with already. If this was the building they were looking for, they had a lot of work cut out for them over the next few days. As much as she hated the whole scout and surveillance gig, she was willing to do whatever that had to do to procure Buffy's safety.

"Alright, open the portal, Red. We've got us some bad guys to catch."

"Before we do that," Willow began, a mischievous look upon her face, "I've got something new I want to try out with everyone that's going."

"What do you mean, something new?" Faith asked skeptically.

"Well, we've had some time now to study the things we found at the other Dollhouse. A lot of it is so advanced I can't make heads or tails of it. Yet. But I was able to snoop on some of their tech and mimic it for our own purposes."

"Please tell me you're not gonna make us into dolls," Faith said.

"Nope, but this tech really goes hand in hand with that. The Dollhouse uses the neural framework of the dolls to monitor their vital statistics while they're on engagements. They can see if they're happy, or stressed, or . . .well, aroused. It was their way of making sure that the engagements stick to what they were specified for. If someone was on a romantic encounter and their adrenaline was spiking in non-sexy ways, they knew something was wrong."

"And you're gonna use that on us how?" Echo asked warily. She'd been used as a guinea pig for too long and wasn't quite so willing to put herself in that position again.

"Oh, don't worry, it's not invasive," Willow assured them. "I enhanced it mystically so that we don't actually need the neural framework that the dolls do. All I do is stick this handy little heart monitors that I've tinkered with to your chest as we can monitor everything from here. If things get hairy, I can have everyone out in twenty, thirty seconds."

She picked up a handful of the monitors that looked kind of like little suction cups and walked throughout the room, applying them to all of the girls who were going through the portal. When she finally reached Faith and Echo, she had the last monitor in her hand and she looked up at them, worried.

"Kennedy's is already in place. She made me put it on her hours ago because she was so excited that she might get to beat someone up. I didn't know Echo was going so I don't have enough," she said with a frown.

Echo looked down at the monitor in Willow's hand, then up at Willow's worried face. "I've still got the neural framework. Think you can tap into it?"

Willow's face lit up and she nodded, then led Echo over to one of the small gray monitors nearby. She placed one hand on the monitor and the other on Echo's forehead before chanting a few words in Latin. Suddenly the monitor lit up with a myriad of colors and swirls, attracting everyone's attention.

"This is what we'll be watching. If anyone gets into a bad situation, we'll probably know it before you even realize you're in trouble. If we can't contact you on your radios to make sure everything is okay, we'll have you back here in a jiff."

"But we're not anticipating any fighting at this point," Robin clarified, speaking loudly enough so that everyone could hear him. "This is reconnaissance, girls. Study, explore, but do not engage unless you're left with no other choice. Remember: bad guys tend to have guns. We don't."

The girls quietly murmured to one another as Willow made her way back over to Faith with the last of the monitors. Faith looked at it distastefully but when Willow used her resolve face, she pulled down the neck of her shirt and exposed her upper chest for Willow to stick the monitor to.

"Red, don't think I need to tell you twice that B can be pretty tricky when she's being stubborn. Don't let her anywhere near that portal or that building. I don't care what she tries; use your magic juju if you have to."

"You have my word," Willow said firmly.

"If anything happens to her . . ." Faith began but her words cut off as her throat constricted with emotion.

"I know, Faith. I know."

Willow put a comforting hand on Faith's bicep and gave it a reassuring squeeze before walked toward the center of the room and holding her arms out.

"Everyone ready?" she asked.

Receiving several yes's and nods, she closed her eyes and focused, pulling energy up from the earth and filtering it through her body until it flickered at her fingertips in steady waves of crackling white and blue. Her eyes opened and she gasped, a devilish little smile on her face. Suddenly the energy jumped from her fingertips and began swirling until a large portal was formed.

The slayers and Robin gathered their gear and made their way through in groups of two until only Faith and Echo were left. The two girls walked up to the portal and paused at the same time as Willow called out to them.

"Good luck, guys. We'll be watching you," she said.

The two brunettes nodded once in unison and then turned back to the portal. A moment later they stepped through and the portal closed behind them, leaving the room empty with the exception of a few slayers manning the monitors, and Kennedy and Willow.

"Can't believe I'm stuck here," Kennedy complained.

Willow couldn't help but laugh. Kennedy's petulance was something that she always found endearing and now was no exception. Knowing that she needed to find a new and important job to appease her girlfriend, she suggested she go upstairs and find Buffy to make sure she was okay. Kennedy went – reluctantly – and Willow turned back to the monitors, waiting for the first sign of danger.

She had a sinking feeling that things weren't going to be as easy as they'd all hoped for.


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter Five**

Riley sat silently in the back of the black van with Juliet, the gentle motion of the vehicle not disturbing them at all. She was busy testing the strength of the manacles on her wrists and all he could do was stare at her, small beads of sweat forming on his forehead and upper lip.

He couldn't believe the complete physical similarity she bore to Buffy. She _was_ Buffy. She hadn't started that way, of course. Buffy's natural light brown hair was startling for him to see when they'd brought Juliet out of isolation after the cloning procedure, but the hair and makeup artists had done wonders with her and had given her just the right shade of Buffy-blonde. Battle scars aside, Juliet was the full physical representative of Buffy Summers.

The problem was that she was not mentally or emotionally Buffy; that the constant uploading and removal of imprints left her fragile. Any time he secretly noticed any intellectual or mental growth in her – even a tiny sliver of the real Buffy's persona slipping through – she was uploaded with a new imprint and all progress was lost.

He'd wondered if that was part of the reason why they used her so often for engagements. Maybe Professor Walsh had noticed some Buffyness coming through and decided to imprint Juliet and then have her wiped to take away those small traces of a real persona. He knew Maggie was up to no good and the only reason he'd signed up for this project in the first place was to keep an eye on her. When he saw her seemingly back from the dead, he knew something wasn't right. He'd hoped that he'd be able to keep a lid on the badness factor of whatever nefarious plans she had.

Luckily for him, she'd welcomed him into the project and had made getting Buffy's blood his personal job. He had been more than happy about that; even though he knew the consequences would be dire if Buffy ever found out, he would've rather have been the one to steal a drop than someone else who would have taken it all if he had turned the job down – or failed.

Things had gone well with the cloning procedure and Juliet was a rising star in their facility. Top notch, actually. Complications arose, however, when she'd started having the slayer dreams. They knew the dreams would come, as they had with the other cloned slayers, but when they started previewing the future and not just the past, Riley was certain they were in trouble. If Juliet was having the dreams, that meant other slayers probably were too, and if she could see other slayers . . . that meant they could see her as well.

Reagan, their head programmer, had been obsessively tinkering with an imprint he'd created weeks back in hope that it could be used on Juliet in the event that the slayers found them. The imprint, known as Eve . . . well, it hadn't worked so well the first time around. They'd lost two handlers and Riley had nearly had both legs broken. Still, Reagan was sure that he'd fine-tuned it and fixed all the bugs and, with the added security measures, he was hoping that tonight's engagement would be the technological victory he was hoping for.

"You're nervous," Juliet said as she stared at Riley and studied his face. He quickly snapped back from his thoughts and wiped his fingertips over his mouth to remove the perspiration from his upper lip. "It's okay. I would be too."

The corner of her lips curled up into a smile that made Riley more uncomfortable than being locked in the back of a van with her. Hopefully the manacles would hold if she decided to go all Destructo-Doll again.

"We're not far now, Eve. Just sit tight," he said, trying to avoid her gaze. Just saying her name made his legs ache a little. Couldn't Reagan have renamed the imprint?

"Will there be lots of bad guys to kill?"

"Probably some good guys too," he said under his breath.

Juliet just grinned excitedly in response. Her fingers flexed as much as they could within the confines of her manacles. Riley watched warily, his hand permanently affixed over the gun on his hip. It didn't take her much to snap last time and despite Reagan's assertion that he'd fixed the flaws, Riley still didn't trust the Eve imprint.

He didn't care what anyone said; there was nothing safe about creating an amalgamation of every slayer they'd ever neurologically mapped. Being able to jump from one slayer's personality and abilities to the next meant that they were creating a virtually unbeatable foe.

Eve was dangerous. She couldn't be trusted.

But if it came to helping Juliet run, he'd rather have her imprinted as someone who could defend herself. Time was ticking and he needed to make his decision. Do what was right or do what he was told? Either way was incredibly dangerous. He needed to pick a side.

The van rolled to a stop and after a few moments, the back doors swung open to reveal two men in army fatigues with large guns in their hands.

"Get her out," one of them ordered.

Riley nodded and slipped down onto one knee in front of Juliet. He stared up at her face for as long as he could without looking conspicuous, then used a key to free her from the manacles that were attached to an iron hook on the floor. She stood up and stretched, sparing him a quick glance.

"Don't worry, Beefstick. I'll be back in a jiff and then you and I can have some of that _real_ fun that you were promising." She winked at him and then walked to the back of the van, hopping out without much to-do. The two men stood on either side of her and escorted her down toward a large clearing ahead of them.

Riley watched until they were out of sight in the darkness, then rested his head back against the cool metal wall and closed his eyes. Security measures or not, he still didn't fully trust her. Eve was unstable, but she was more capable than Juliet. If he wanted to get her out of there, though, he'd have to learn to trust her.

Even more, he had to trust that he was making the right decision.

* * *

><p>Kennedy reached the end of the long hallway of the dorm and slowly turned around, pausing to look at all of the doors she'd left open in search of Buffy. Taking in a deep breath through her nose, she turned again and made her way down the stairs to head back to Willow. When she finally reached the communications center where Willow was intently watching a group of monitors, she cleared her throat to get her attention.<p>

Willow turned back with a smile on her face but it quickly fell when she saw the look Kennedy was giving her.

"Houston, we have a problem," Kennedy said.

"No," Willow interrupted, shaking her head. "No problems. Problems aren't allowed!"

"Yeah, well, tell that to Buffy . . . if you can find her."

"You mean . . .?"

"Yup. She's gone."

Willow quickly turned back around to look at the monitors, chewing nervously on her bottom lip. She could see the building in question; could see the three teams in place, ready to make a move. She watched as Faith's team slowly crept toward the building in the cover of the night with Echo's team hanging back to wait for their opportunity.

And then she watched as a taxi pulled up just a bit down the street and an eager Buffy jumped out, clinging to the shadows to go unnoticed by the teams.

"Oh, poop."

* * *

><p>Riley's eyes were still closed when he felt the van move slightly under someone's weight. He quickly looked up to find Juliet – no, Eve – standing before him, a smug grin on her face as she held a gun less than one inch from his head.<p>

"Bang. You're dead," she said and then began laughing.

Riley let out the breath he'd been holding and then quickly took the gun from her before she decided to use it. He looked nervous yet relieved at the same time as he checked her over and found that most of her injuries were superficial.

In fact, most of the blood on her wasn't even hers.

"You made it," he said, not sounding too surprised.

"'course I did. Did you ever really doubt?" As she sat back down in her seat and held her hands out for him to cuff again.

"No, I guess not. Professor Walsh will be pleased. Once Reagan can confirm that the imprint is working without fault, they'll be ready to start imprinting the others. Her success rests in your hands."

He knelt on one knee again and locked the manacles over her wrists, leaving them a bit looser this time. He didn't want her wrists to hurt, after all, and he still wasn't sure if the blood on her hands was hers or from the soldiers. He looked up and met her gaze, staring at her in wonder.

"I'm not her, you know," she said after a second, then laughed a little. "Well, I guess she's in here somewhere, actually. She comes in handy now and again. Situations like these though? Back seat, baby."

"So who's driving now?"

"Well, when I was getting my kung-fu on with that motley little group of baby soldiers, Satsu was front and center."

"But now?"

Eve curled the corners of her lips into another grin. "Faith's driving the getaway car. Speaking of which . . . shouldn't we be getting away? Never a great idea to linger around a crime scene."

Riley didn't say anything. He simply nodded and made sure she was locked down before closing the doors and knocking on the front wall of the van. A moment later the motor started up and they pulled away, headed back to the dollhouse.

"So is the plan a go?" Eve asked after a second, watched as Riley seemed to be waging some kind of internal battle. "Come on, Riley; don't leave me high and dry now."

Riley looked over at her, worry in his eyes. He still didn't know if they could pull it off.

* * *

><p>"Team three is inside and is climbing," Faith's voice came over the earpiece. "Team two?"<p>

"Coast is clear and two is on its way," Echo replied as she and her team edged around the side of the building in the shadows, heading toward the front entrance on the other side of the underground parking entrance.

"One?" Faith asked.

"Team one is in position and is on standby," Robin replied. "Waiting on you guys."

"Good," Faith replied. She and her team were going up a maintenance stairwell, headed toward the upper floors of the building where they suspected they'd find what they were looking for if it was really there.

"Back, back, back!" Echo whispered harshly to her team over the earpiece. "Faith, Team Two is pulling pack. A van just pulled up and guards are walking up to it. We can't get to the front entrance as long as they're there."

"Okay, just wait until the van moves and the coast is clear," Faith replied. She and her team paused their ascent, waiting to make sure that everything proceeded as planned.

There were a few minutes of radio silence as they all waited to see what happened.

* * *

><p>"You're just gonna have to trust me," Eve said and held out her shackled hands.<p>

"That's the point; I don't trust you. I trust _her_," he said warily.

Eve stared at him long and hard for a few moments, focusing herself as best as she could. Suddenly she shook her head and fluttered her eyes.

"Riley, listen to me," she said suddenly and Riley instantly perked up. She was familiar. She was Buffy. "If you take me back in there, Walsh will see that Eve is a successful imprint and she'll have no reason to keep me around; not when she can put the imprint into any cloned slayer and have the same results. I'll be obsolete. There will be no attic, there will be no freedom; there will be a big, messy death. I exist because you stole blood. Do you want my death on your conscience?"

"No," he said, shaking his head.

Eve held up her shackled hands. "Then let me out."

Riley watched her for a few seconds and then nodded. He drew in a deep breath before pulling the key from his pocket and kneeling in front of her.

"Listen, my car isn't far from here. If we can take out the guards, we have sixty, maybe ninety seconds before more arrive. We can make a run for it," he said as he unlocked the manacles and let them drop to the floor. "Just follow me and . . ."

His words were cut off as Eve uppercut him under the jaw, sending him flying back against the side of the van.

"Sorry Riley; you know I can't just leave Walsh to keep all of this running. I have to destroy this imprint, and then I have to stop her."

Riley was dazed and couldn't quite see her but he could hear what she was saying. "Don't . . . don't do it . . . Buff . . ."

But it was too late. Eve reared back and kicked the back doors of the van out, knocking two guards out in the process. Suddenly several armed guards swarmed the van, all taking aim at her. She jumped down and got into a fighting stance, something flickering behind her eyes as a devilish grin appeared on her face.

"_Kon Ni chi Wa_, boys. The name's Satsu, and I'll be kicking your ass."

* * *

><p>"Faith, something weird is going on here," Echo said as she watched the scene play out before them. "There are like ten guards swarming the van. I can't see . . ." she trailed off, thinking that her eyes were deceiving her.<p>

"What's goin' on?" Faith replied, her heart starting to race. She knew that Willow would pick up on the change and she hoped that she didn't get suddenly teleported back to headquarters.

"It's Buffy," Echo said blankly. "Or the clone. I don't know . . . shit!" She watched as the blonde broke out into a flurry of fists and kicks. "Faith; there are guards all over her; she's totally outnumbered. I'm going in!"

"No, wait!" Faith yelled, but it was too late. Echo was off and running toward the commotion. She was maybe one hundred yards out when she slowed down in surprise.

The blonde was standing alone in the middle of a pile of unconscious guards. She was slowly spinning around, making sure they were all incapacitated, when she noticed something moving off in the distance. She looked up to see Echo running toward her, then quickly slowing down and eventually stopping. Their eyes met over the distance and she instantly recognized her. Felt her. _Knew_ her. Beyond the programming, something called to her; something deep inside that she couldn't push down.

A smile crept up on her face, just like it had done on the brunette's.

But then the brunette's eyes widened and before Eve could turn around to see why, several small electrodes shot into her from behind and she was tazed by several guards. She fell backwards into the arms of one of the guards and was quickly dragged away as Maggie watched on. Maggie looked over at Echo and smiled – actually fucking smiled! – before turning around and quickly following the guards.

Echo was running toward them again, pushing herself as hard as she could. She made it into the parking facility just as they'd walked into a large elevator but by the time she'd reached them, the door closed and they were gone.

"Fuck!" she yelled as she slammed her hand against the door, leaving a large indent. "They've got her! They're taking her upstairs," she said, breathing harshly as she looked around for another way up. Finding no other entrances beside the three elevator shafts, she ran back out front and prepared to storm the front entrance when she ran almost directly into Buffy.

"B!" she asked, surprised. When Buffy nodded, Echo looked seriously pissed off. "What the hell happened to staying behind?"

"I've never been one to take orders well," Buffy said. "Where are they taking her?"

"Who knows," Echo replied, flustered. "Up, I think. Faith's team is already in the building. Faith?"

"_Yeah, we're heading up_," Faith replied through the earpiece. Having heard Buffy's voice over the radio, she was even more anxious now. "Get Buffy the fuck out of here!"

"Already on it." Echo grabbed Buffy's bicep and began to tug her away toward the street despite the fact that Buffy was struggling. "Quit it, Buffy. You're going back."

"Over my dead body!" Buffy shouted and shook her arm free.

"Yeah, and it's gonna be if you go in there!" Echo shouted back, her face angry. "I saw you die, Buffy! Why are you trying so hard to make that happen!"

"Because I can't sit back and let this happen to someone else!"

They stared at each other, breathing hard and furious, though not really at each other. Neither of them were going to back down, though, so things were about to get really interesting.

"Buffy?" came a muffled voice from behind them. Both Buffy and Echo spun around and were surprised to see Riley sitting on the back of the van, one of his hands holding his seemingly dislocated jaw in place.

"Riley?" Buffy asked, but then her anger took over her surprise and she quickly advanced on him and spoke through gritted teeth. "Please tell me that you're not involved in this."

He nodded, his eyes sad and filled with regret. "I was just trying to keep you safe." Seeing Buffy's annoyed glare, he closed his eyes, then held up his other hand. A key card was dangling from it. "Twenty-ninth floor."

Before Echo could stop her, Buffy snagged the card from his hand and began running back toward the building with Echo hot on her heels. She stopped at the elevators and ran the card in front of the sensor pad, taking a breath of relief when the door opened.

"What do you think you're doing?" Echo said, spinning her around so that they were facing.

"What I always do: I'm going after the bad guy. You can stay here or you can come with me, but I am _not_ going to sit idly by while Faith runs in to the unknown and they're up there doing God knows what to my clone."

The elevator door began to close and Buffy put her hand against it, temporarily stopping it. She stared at Echo who seemed to be waging her own internal war, then stepped into the elevator as Echo finally relented and joined her. The doors closed after them and Echo sighed deeply.

This was her dream. They were walking into Buffy's death.

She had to stop it. She would.

"Faith," she said, her fingers on her earpiece, "We're coming up. Twenty-ninth floor. Be ready for us."

It was too bad that the elevator blocked the reception.

* * *

><p>Faith and her team were still climbing, their progress hampered by the fact that they had to check out every floor. When they reached the twenty-ninth floor and discovered that it was protected by both a security panel and several locks, she knew that they were at the right floor.<p>

Vi quickly jumped into action, pulling a thin black box from her bag. She opened it and pulled several wires out, then stuck them to various spots on the security panel. She pressed a few buttons and the alarm beeped once, twice, then started to smoke, short-circuited.

"That's as much as I can do," she said as she yanked the wires away. "The locks are all yours, Faith."

The rest of her team cleared away from her, giving her ample room to be able to break it down. She stepped back, then pivoted forward and planted her foot square in the center of the door, hitting it with the force of a battering ram. The hinges creaked and moaned but didn't fully give.

"Vi, get on this with me," Faith said and Vi hopped over to her side, mimicking her position. "On three. One, two, three."

They both kicked out with their right legs and the door crunched and pushed in enough that one more kick from Faith sent it flying inside and across the room. Faith was the first to enter, her senses on high alert as she peeked around. They'd been expecting some pretty big resistance but instead they found the area mostly empty with the exception of a few aides who were cowering in corners and under tables.

"Fuck, this can't be right," Faith said with a frown.

"Maybe this isn't the right floor," Vi suggested.

"Yeah, maybe. Listen, two of you head back down and see if there's anything happening at ground level. Two of you keep climbing and see if you can find anything else. Vi, get on the horn with Robin and tell him and his girls to be on alert. If the building is being evacuated, chances are they're gonna use the utility tunnels."

"Okay," Vi nodded, then took the rest of the girls and walked them back toward the stairwell.

Faith waited until they were gone until she began to look around again. This place wasn't exactly like the other dollhouse had been but they definitely must've used the same designers. The ceiling was taller than in your average office and there were corridors that shot off in several directions from the central room she was now standing in. The sound of an elevator dinged in the distance and she decided to cautiously follow the sound, hoping that it was one of the other teams.

She walked down a long, bright corridor with her fingertips quietly dragging against the wall, hoping that her slayer senses would pick up a sound or a clue. Surely enough, she'd just passed a closed door when she heard whispering from behind it. She put her ear to the door and listened for several seconds, then sighed as she put her hand on the doorknob and pushed it open.

Inside Echo and Buffy jumped at the sudden intrusion but sighed with relief when they saw it was only Faith.

"Thank God it's you," Buffy said. She walked over and into Faith's arms, though Faith was too busy glaring at Echo to reply to Buffy.

"What the hell happened to getting her out of here?" Faith asked Echo.

"You try makin' her do something she doesn't want to," Echo said with a shrug. "Besides, I figured that if I was with her nothing bad would happen."

"You," she said to Buffy, lifting up her chin so that she could look into her eyes, "are in a heap of crazy trouble. And you," she looked back to Echo who raised a daring eyebrow at her, "any of this look familiar?"

"All of it," Echo said.

"We're trying to figure out where they would have taken the clone to. It looked like she was coming back from some kind of engagement but then went a little rogue. I saw her fighting the guards, but then they got her with tazer guns."

"Well if she was imprinted and going rogue, first thing they'd probably wanna do is wipe her so that she can't hurt anyone else," Faith said.

"Best guess on where the chair is?" Buffy asked, looking back and forth between Faith and Echo.

When no one could answer, they decided to venture out of the room and do a bit of exploring. They quickly made their way from corridor to corridor until they finally found a room with privacy doors and windows. There was a mechanical whirring coming from within and the sound of quiet groans and grunts as if someone was in pain. All three girls dropped into defensive mode and inched closer, ready to leap into action at any moment.

The whirring sound stopped, along with the painful groans, and they figured that the time to go in was now or never.

Ever so cautiously, Echo put her hand on the door and gave it a soft push, letting it open inch by inch. She peeked inside to see Buffy's clone in the chair looking quite innocent and not at all like the girl she saw playing kung-fu angel in the lot downstairs. The reason was simple: she'd been wiped. All that remained was the doll persona.

"Don't be rude; either stay out there or come in," came a voice from within the room.

Echo looked back at Faith who nodded, then pushed the door open the rest of the way. The three girls walked in to find Maggie Walsh standing behind a large console looking very much calm and collected.

Oh yeah, and much more alive than Buffy remembered.

"Professor Walsh," Buffy said coolly as she walked in, barely able to look at her clone who was staring at her with confusion. "I should have known."

"Oh, Miss Summers, you never could have known. You're not exactly the brightest of young women. I thought that would have been a problem when we created your clone, but we were able to imprint her with many, many new skills."

Buffy slowly gazed over at her clone, angry tears filling her eyes.

"My, where are my manners," Maggie continued. "I should properly introduce you. Buffy, this is Juliet. She's been invaluable in testing out some new technology for us."

"How nice," Buffy said bitterly. "Now let her go."

"By all means. Now that we have what we need from her, she's become obsolete. Juliet?" Maggie looked over at Juliet and gave her a warm smile, which Juliet kindly returned. "I'm sorry dear, but you've been recalled."

She raised her hand from behind the console to reveal that she was holding a semi-automatic pistol which she was pointing directly at Juliet. The bullet left the barrel before any of the girls could even blink and lodged itself right in Juliet's abdomen.

Echo jumped as she watched the girl slump back in the chair, unsure if it was a flashback or if it had actually just happened. When she saw Faith charge forward toward Maggie and heard Buffy shout, she knew that it was real, and that her dream had just become reality.


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter Six**

Everything seemed to happen in slow motion over the next few seconds. Faith ran toward Maggie who was now aiming the gun in her direction. Buffy was just a step or two behind her, trying to grab her arm to pull her back but Faith seemed unstoppable. Echo couldn't see Faith's face from her position behind her but she knew it had to be pretty scary judging by the way Maggie's smile slipped.

Faith's hand was already wrapped around the barrel of the gun when Maggie fired it again. She'd pushed it upwards so that the bullet lodged in the ceiling, sending tiny pieces of drywall dust showering down around them. Maggie looked absolutely horrified and if Faith felt any pain from the powder burn on her hand, she didn't show it. Echo didn't see anything more of their struggle, though, because she suddenly found herself at Juliet's side, staring down at the wounded girl.

She scanned the girl's midsection and instantly knew how bad the wound was by the amount of blood pouring out of her. Digging deep for some kind of stored medical know-how, she instantly ripped off a piece of her shirt in a strip around her waist and pressed it against the wound, making Juliet cry out in pain. Her eyes locked on Juliet's and she felt like she was drowning , but the sound of a scuffle off to her side caught her attention and she glanced over to see Faith holding the gun and pointing it at Maggie's head as she backed her up against a wall.

"Faith, wait!" Buffy yelled.

"This bitch has gotta pay, B. She _shot_ her!" Faith replied through clenched teeth, her free arm indicating a groaning Juliet.

Echo glanced back down at Juliet's pale face. Juliet's lips were trembling but she was mostly quiet, just staring up at Echo's worried eyes.

"You're gonna be okay. I'll take care of you," Echo told her, then looked over at Buffy. "We need an ambulance. Now!"

Buffy was torn between making the call and trying to talk Faith down. She couldn't lose Faith to the darkness she'd surely fall in to if she killed Maggie, but she couldn't let poor Juliet just lay there and die either.

"Faith, I need to call 911. You need to give me the gun."

"She needs to pay, Buffy. There's no soul in there." She tapped Maggie's forehead with the gun.

"I know, baby. But it's not up to us to pass that kind of judgment on humans. The police will deal with her."

"Not like she needs to be dealt with."

"You can't kill her," came a deep voice from just off to the side. Both Echo and Buffy looked over to see Riley stumbling in, but Faith kept her gaze locked on Maggie. "You'll be arrested if you do. Just call the police . . . let them have her."

"You have _no_ say in what we do with her!" Buffy said through clenched teeth. "You . . . you participated in this,Riley. You knew what was going on . . . you . . ."

"Buffy, I'm sor . . ." he began but was cut off by yet another uppercut to his jaw from Buffy. He flew back against the wall and slid down.

"If you apologize to me, I will beat you to death," she said to his unconscious form, then turned her gaze back to Faith. "Baby, if you kill her, I'm going to lose you."

Faith's jaw clenched a few times and her breathing picked up even more. She stole a glance over at Buffy, her hands gripping tighter around the gun.

"Don't make me live without you forever," Buffy pleaded softly.

Echo had to look away then, feeling like she was intruding on a very personal moment. She lifted the fabric she was holding against Juliet's wound and quickly pushed it back tightly when a spurt of blood escaped. "Shit," she mumbled, her panic rising.

"I know you," Juliet said quietly, instantly getting her attention. Echo looked deeply into her eyes, feeling her heart clenching in her chest. "I know your face. I _feel_ you."

Juliet lifted her shaky hand and touched the side of Echo's face. Echo leaned her head in so that her cheek was fully in the girl's palm.

"I feel you too," she whispered. She moved her free hand up and held it over Juliet's, stroking it softly with her thumb.

"You're in my dreams," Juliet murmured, her voice getting weaker and weaker. She slowly moved her other hand from her side and held it over her chest, "And you're in here, too. I feel it now."

Her eyes started to flutter shut and Echo's breath caught in her throat. Juliet's hand was so cold. She was fading.

"Someone help us!" she yelled over to Buffy and Faith who it seemed had finally ended their standoff.

Buffy was prying Faith's fingers from the gun and finally managed to take it away, tossing it to the floor behind them. Both Buffy and Maggie breathed a sigh of relief when Faith stepped away and walked silently over to Juliet's side, checking her over with Echo.

"An ambulance isn't gonna get here quick enough," she said darkly.

"We have to help her!" Echo pleaded, tears freely falling from her eyes now.

Faith looked to Echo, then back down to Juliet. She ran her fingertips over Juliet's cheek and let them linger for just a moment, staring into familiar green eyes, before she straightened up and stepped back. She brought her hand up to her earpiece and said, "Willow, you need to zap us back. Now!"

"_I'm on it. I need thirty seconds, give or take_," Willow's worried voice said over their earpieces.

"Thanks," Faith replied, then looked over at Buffy. "What are we gonna do with her?"

Buffy looked over to Maggie who seemed much more relaxed now that she knew her life wasn't in danger. Without warning, Buffy reared back and her fist flew through the air, hitting Maggie directly in the face. She fell to the ground in a heap, blood pouring from her nose.

"That's for messing with my friends and I," Buffy mumbled. She quickly ran over to Faith and grabbed a pair of silver cuffs from her belt, then took the cuffs from Echo's belt too. Knowing that Willow would zap them back any second now, she worked quickly, placing one of the cuffs on Maggie's wrist, then the other on Riley's. She carelessly yanked them so that they were next to a large iron column, then put the second set of cuffs on their other hands so that they were effectually hugging the column, locked around it by the cuffs.

"And that's for giving me a C+ in your class, bitch," she said to Maggie.

She fought the urge to spit down at them and instead walked over to Juliet's side. After a moment she slipped around behind the chair and pulled a small cartridge out from a panel. The label on it read 'Eve' and Buffy chuckled bitterly. Adam and Eve. Maggie sure lost points when it came to originality. Shaking her head sadly, Buffy tossed the cartridge onto the floor and crushed it with the heel of her boot, sending pieces of it flying off into every direction.

Satisfied that it was destroyed and that Maggie's project was officially terminated, she walked over to Faith's side and slipped under her arm. This was all a bit much, even for her.

Juliet's eyes were closed and her body was still with the exception of a very shallow breath every few seconds. Echo pulled her hand away from Juliet's stomach and bent down on one knee so that she could be closer to her. She continued to hold Juliet's cold hand and reached out so that she could caress her face too, her thumb tracing softly over her cheek.

"Just hold on," she said, making Juliet's eyelids flutter open momentarily.

"It hurts," Juliet whispered.

"I know."

A white light began to grow around them and Buffy reached over, putting her hand on Echo's shoulder. There were tears in her eyes too and they began to spill over her cheeks when the atmosphere shimmered and they suddenly found themselves back in the command center with Willow and several other people standing around them. Willow looked visibly shocked to see Buffy's clone back with them but as soon as she saw that the girl was injured, she shook her head and jumped into action. She leaned down and put her hands on Juliet, not bothering to ask Echo to give her room. Her hair and eyes began to glow white as she started up a chant, hoping beyond hope that it wasn't too late. She could heal the girl, but if she was already dead there was nothing she could do for her.

Wind began to gust through the room and Echo's eyes widened when she saw the bullet rising up into the air from Juliet's abdomen. It landed with a clink on the hard ground just a moment later and Willow grunted with effort. Echo looked down as the wind slowly ceased and waited for the bleeding to stop but the wound just kept slowly seeping. She looked up to find Juliet's eyes closed, face pale and lips blue.

"Don't go," she whispered as she leaned down and pressed their foreheads together. "Please, stay."

Her tears dripped onto Juliet's cheeks as everyone silently looked on and Buffy had to turn away, burying her face against Faith's shoulder. Faith wrapped an arm around her and held her tight, her heart clenching in her chest when she thought about the pain Echo must have been going through. They'd only just found Juliet and now they were losing her.

"Come, on . . . work," Willow pleaded but she was beginning to lose hope. Her hair and eyes started returning back to their normal color and she held her breath, hoping to see some sign of life.

The room was completely still.

* * *

><p><em>"New Yorkers were once again rocked by the news this week that yet another covert human research facility was uncovered in Manhattan, just months after a similar facility was exposed. It appears, however, that the US military may be involved this time, and even more, that it was being operated by a woman who supposedly died in a building collapse in the former town of Sunnydale, California in 2000.<em>

_When the police received an anonymous call to investigate the building in uptown Manhattan, they'd discovered that it had been completely evacuated with the exception of two people who are now in police custody. The unknown male has yet to be named to the news circuits but it's our understanding that he has been cooperating fully and hasn't asked for any kind of plea deal. The woman was identified as Professor Maggie Walsh whose previously recorded death is currently being investigated by both the state of California and the FBI. While she's caused quite a bit of controversy by giving the names of military personnel who were allegedly involved, the US military has completely denied any knowledge of her or her project._

_Time will tell, as a full investigation has been launched and no stone will be left unturned in this twisted tale._

There is one question, however, that everyone wants answered now: What happened to the people who were being researched at this facility?"

Faith held out her hand and pressed a button on the remote control, turning the TV off. She gently tossed the remote onto the floor and looked up, her head still resting on Buffy's lap.

"Can ya believe that?"

"I can't say I'm surprised," Buffy said, her fingertips slowly brushing through Faith's hair.

"What about the Clean Marine? Looks like he's gonna give them whatever they want."

"Can't say I really care. Two strikes; he's out."

"Isn't it usually three strikes?" Xander asked from his seat at the other end of the couch, ignoring Faith's feet on his lap.

"This isn't baseball, it's life," Buffy replied, a hundred emotions behind her green eyes.

Faith saw the turmoil there and decided to change the subject just a little.

"And then that crazy bitch Walsh tried to sell her bosses out. What the hell did she think that would accomplish? Ain't no way the US military is gonna let its name be shit-stained with this."

Buffy shrugged, "We don't even know that they're really involved. The Initiative was shut down as a government-sponsored program after we killed Adam. Maybe they didn't even know it was up and running again."

"Seems unlikely," Faith said.

"I think it's totally likely," Buffy replied easily. "Adelle DeWitt was able to get private funding for AFH. How hard do you think it was for Professor Walsh to do the same?"

"Probably not that hard," Faith said, a pensive look on her face. "Shit, that means we ain't ever gonna be able to get the bastards that were workin' the levers behind the curtain."

"Well, whoever was pulling the levers sure wasn't a wizard," Willow chimed in as she walked into the small lounge room. She took a seat on the arm of the couch nearest Xander and got as comfortable as possible. "The paper trail is pretty non-existent but it's there. It's gonna take some time and some digging, but I'll find 'em."

She sounded more hopeful than she did reassuring but hope was better than nothing. Besides, her resolve face was on and nothing could overcome the resolve face. Not even Buffy's pouty lip or Xander's puppy dog eyes came close.

"When the hell are you guys leaving so I can get my lounge back?" Kennedy asked as she breezed into the room after Willow. Seeing as that there was no place to sit with Faith practically laying across the couch, she hopped up and sat on the back cushion with her feet resting on Faith's thigh.

"Get 'em off before I break 'em," Faith grumbled as she batted Kennedy's feet away.

Kennedy smirked and chuckled, then yelped as Faith lifted her feet up from her lap and unceremoniously dumped her off the back of the couch. She landed with a thud and quickly stood up, trying to look as unaffected as possible.

Willow had her hand over her mouth and was trying to hide her smile. She couldn't help the giggle that escaped, though.

"Don't worry Kenny," she said, "I've got the coven working on getting the portal up and running. They're not quite as quick and adept as I am, but they'll be done soon. Another few minutes and you'll have the couch to yourself again."

"You sure they're gonna do it right?" Faith asked warily, sitting up a little so that her elbows were sinking down into the center cushion. "If I come through with my ass on my front, I'm gonna be wicked pissed."

"Yeah, I like her ass where it is," Buffy replied equally warily.

"They've been training with the best," Willow said sounding just a little bit smug. "Besides, my battery is running low after all of the excitement from last week. Between the spell to bring you guys back and the . . . _other_ spells, I don't think I have enough energy in me right now. Giles doesn't want me to try, so it's the coven or the airport."

"So long as you've got a little juice left in your battery for me, I say let the Wicca-wannabes take care of the witchy-mojo today," Kennedy said as she wrapped her arms around Willow from behind. She gave her girlfriend a soft kiss on the top of her head and just held her for a while, knowing that the emotional toll from the events that transpired were still weighing heavily on all of them.

"Speaking of last week," Xander began tentatively, "has anyone heard from Echo?"

All eyes fell on Faith who sat up a little bit more and swung her legs around so that her feet were on the floor. She leaned forward and rested her elbows on her knees, then hung her head down a little so her long hair hid her face.

"Nah," she said quietly, seeming like she was deep in thought. "She just wants some time alone. With everything that's happened, can't really blame her for not wanting us all up in her business."

"Do you think we should go and check in on her before we head back to the castle?" Buffy asked softly, her hand softly rubbing Faith's back now.

Faith shrugged and lifted her head back up, staring straight ahead of her and not at her friends. "Don't really think she's up for visitors, B. She gotta have some time to adjust; find a new rhythm."

"Yeah, there has to be a period of adjustment after something like this," Xander said. He sat forward and mimicked Faith's position, seemingly lost in thought. After a minute he took in a deep breath through his nose and exhaled loudly, then stood up. "I'm gonna go and make sure everything's ready for our departure."

When he was gone, the room was silent for a few minutes until Willow finally asked, "Do you think that she'll be okay? I mean," she paused for a second, "well, you know."

Faith thought about it for a moment and the tiniest of smiles graced her full lips.

"She's strong. Don't meet many people like her, yunno? Little bit of time, she'll land back on her feet."

Buffy leaned in and wrapped her arm around Faith's back and pressed her lips to the side of her head. She hoped that she was right.

* * *

><p>Maggie slowly followed the armed guard before her, the wool blankets in her arms itching her skin even through the prison-issued jumpsuit. She ignored the catcalls from the other inmates as she passed and picked up her pace so that there was less distance between her and the guard. He led her down a long row of cells and stopped only when they reached the very end of the corridor. There was a loud buzz and the door to the last cell opened, revealing a small room with a bunk bed and a small shelf.<p>

The guard stood and waited for her to go in, looking more and more annoyed as the seconds passed. Taking the hint, Maggie gripped her blankets a little bit tighter and walked through the narrow doorway, jumping when the door shut loudly behind her.

She could see another prisoner laying on the top bunk but instead of messing with formalities, she quickly made her way over to the lower bunk and sat down. Her nerves were frazzled and she desperately needed a stiff drink. This was a nightmare.

"Well I see you, too, have had the opportunity to meet one of the original slayers," came a familiar voice from the top bunk.

Maggie's eyes widened and she slowly stood up from the bunk and turned around to find Adelle laying there, arms crossed under her head with a mildly amused look on her face.

"I believe we've been, what the kids these days call – fucked over," Adelle continued.

Completely at a loss for words, Maggie flopped back onto the bottom bunk and tossed her blankets to the side. She laid back on the mattress that smelled a bit like urine and sighed deeply.

Oh yes. A stiff drink sounded great right about now.

* * *

><p>The shrill timer on the microwave went off and Echo quickly sidestepped over to it, hitting the 'off' button so that it would stop trying to make her ears bleed. She made her way back over to the stovetop and twisted the knob to cut the gas off. Grabbing the silver pot by the black handles on either side, she lifted it up . . . then promptly dropped it back onto the iron burner with a loud clang as it scalded her fingers.<p>

"Son of a…!" she yelled and balled her hands into tight fists, trying her best to bite back the pain. When she unclenched her fingers, she looked down at the angry red welts on her hands and sighed. Thank god they'd heal pretty quickly.

Taking a calming breath, she opened up the drawer next to the stove using her unaffected pinky finger and pulled out two towels, holding one in each hand. She bumped the drawer shut with her hip and moved back in front of the stove, determined not to injure herself.

Again.

Domesticity sure was hard.

She cautiously grabbed the handles of the pot with the towels and lifted it, pleased with herself when she didn't get scalded. Ever so carefully, she moved the pot over to the countertop near the sink where she'd placed a cooling rack and gently set it down. She tossed one of the towels onto the countertop and used the other to take the silver lid off, alert enough not to let the steam burn her. Leaning over the pot after most of the steam wafted away, she took in a deep breath and expected her senses to be flooded with soupy goodness but nearly gagged from the stench.

Chicken soup wasn't supposed to be gray. She was pretty sure it wasn't supposed to smell like that either. It was supposed to be comfort food, not make you want to cry food!

She quickly placed the lid back on and, in a panic to get rid of the foul odor, grabbed the previously discarded towel and clutched both handles again. Walking quicker than was safe, she headed right for the screen door and all but ran outside and down the wooden steps. When the pot was a safe distance from the house, she put it down on the ground and looked at it distastefully.

"I'll be back to bury you later," she grumbled.

Feeling defeated and more than a bit overwhelmed by her lack of blessing from the Kitchen Goddess, she made her way back up the steps and into the kitchen. The door to the familiar cupboard creaked when she opened it and she grabbed one of many small boxes stashed in there before letting it creak shut. She'd have to oil that hinge later.

Grabbing a much smaller silver pot from the rack above the island countertop, she poured some water in it and put it on the stove over the still warm burner. She tilted the knob until the flames jumped back to life and then plopped down onto the wooden barstool just behind her, sighing loudly.

"Boiling water. That's all I'm good for. Fantastic."

It didn't take long for the water to bubble and for her to finish the quick and easy dinner. She'd made it what felt like a thousand times before so it didn't take much effort to finish off. Satisfied that it was edible, she took the pot to the counter and scooped some of the contents into the ceramic bowl she'd placed there a few minutes before. She filled the bowl until there was a rounded heap of bright orange in it, then stuck a fork into it and smiled proudly.

There, that wasn't so bad, was it?

She picked up the bowl and carried it over to the small round table in the corner of the kitchen where there was already a glass of milk and a couple of napkins set up. The bowl was pleasantly warm in her hands, not like the devil-soup that had scalded her would have been. Really though, if it came to soup or macaroni and cheese? She'd always pick the latter.

Arranging the bowl of pasta neatly between the glass and the napkins, she sat down on the chair in front of the setting and took a minute to just breathe. She'd been going nearly non-stop since she'd woken up that morning and it felt good just to be still for a moment. When the familiar ache started deep in her chest, she closed her eyes and tried to fight it back but it was just too much. The house was too quiet and she just felt alone, no matter how busy she'd made herself.

She finally opened her eyes and stood up, shaking her head slowly. Looking down at the bowl of mac and cheese, she reached down to pick it up . . . along with the rest of the items on the tray she'd placed it on. She took a quick sniff of the single daisy that she'd placed in a tall clear glass and turned around, a small smile on her face. Making sure not to spill anything, she started a slow walk toward the bedroom and knocked softly before peeking her head in.

The small figure on the bed stirred and eventually a blonde head peeked out from beneath the sheets, looking sleepy and disheveled.

"Hey," Echo said quietly, unable to keep the smile from her face. She pushed the door open a bit wider with the tray and stepped into the room. "I tried to let you sleep as long as I could but I was going crazy out there all alone."

Juliet smiled brightly and moved to sit up but winced in pain, her hand covering the bandage on her stomach. Echo was instantly at her side, the tray hastily placed on the nightstand beside the bed.

"You okay?" she asked, putting one knee on the bed so that she could help Juliet sit up the rest of the way.

"Yes. It's still a bit sore."

"You took a bullet to the gut and survived a crazy scary operation, Jules. Of course it's sore."

Juliet smiled again and peeked over Echo's shoulder at the night stand.

"You made me mac and cheese. It's my favorite," she said brightly.

Echo looked bashful for a moment as she moved around and arranged herself so that she was sitting with her back against the headboard next to Juliet. She grabbed the tray and moved it across her body to place it on Juliet's lap.

"Yeah, well," she began, "I tried to make something different for a change. Drove into town while you were sleeping and bought some vegetables and chicken. No one ever told me that ya need to be some kind of rocket scientist/kitchen goddess to make soup though."

"I think that there used to be a rocket scientist in here," Juliet said, pointing to her head with her fork, "but Willow made it disappear. Now I'm just . . . a blank slate."

"You can learn it again," Echo said with a shrug. She looked over and smiled as Juliet put a forkful of orange pasta in her mouth, ignoring the one noodle that escaped and rolled down the front of her t-shirt. Grabbing one of the napkins from the tray, Echo tucked it carefully into Juliet's shirt, earning a smile from the girl. "You can do anything you want. Especially now."

Juliet looked thoughtful for a moment while she chewed, then met Echo's gaze again.

"Right now, I'd just like to be eating mac and cheese."

And Echo couldn't help but smile. Her heart felt immediately full again, a relief from how empty it had felt being only as far as the kitchen. She couldn't even remember how she'd dealt with the loneliness before.

Hopefully, she'd never have to feel that again.

"We'll just save the rocket science for later then."

Echo happily watched Juliet tuck into her bowl of mac and cheese, smiling at the happy little grunting noises she made whenever she was really enjoying her food. She couldn't help it as she reached out and used her thumb to push some of Juliet's hair behind her ear, just needing to touch her. To know that she was real and not another cruel dream.

Juliet swallowed the bite she'd been chewing and closed her eyes, basking in the touch. She leaned her head in and sighed happily when Echo's thumb caressed her temple.

"I'm so happy you're here," Echo whispered, her eyes staring at Juliet in wonder.

"I am too," Juliet replied, turning her head so that she could fully look at Echo. She smiled when Echo tentatively leaned across the small space between them and kissed her softly on the lips, her thumb stroking over her cheek now as they rested their foreheads together with eyes closed.

It wasn't weird that they'd only met each other a week ago. They'd known each other far longer; dreamt about each other and felt each other when no one could explain it. Now that they'd finally found each other, they were never going to let one another ago.

The dollhouse had imprinted them again and again, but they were never able to take them from one another. It was inexplicable. No one could understand it.

But as it turned out, after more than five years of drama, mixed signals and bullshit, and after the imprints were gone and they were left in their natural state, all that remained was what was inherent in them from the very beginning:

Love.

**The End.**


End file.
